Montreal seeing record number of fatal overdoses — but more people are stepping up to help

Public health officials in Montreal say the last year was the worst ever recorded for fatal overdoses in the city, with 175 people dying out of 1,255 total overdoses, according to a new report. 

And the current wave of drug overdoses is affecting all age groups and all classes of society.

The new data, released by the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal (DRSP), reveals 77 per cent of overdose deaths occur in homes, while around nine per cent of deaths involve people experiencing homelessness. 

These figures were compiled between Aug. 2022 and July 2023 in the Montreal area. Out of the 175 people who died from an overdose, 138 were men. A closer look also reveals that the age group most affected are those between 40 and 59.

"It's important to remember that behind these figures, each figure represents a person with a history, a family and loved ones," said Dr. Benoit Corriveau, who specializes in preventive medicine and harm reduction at the DRSP.

Thursday is International Overdose Awareness Day, and the DRSP is hoping to help break down certain taboos.

"We need to talk about it," said Corriveau. "We have to take advantage of occasions like this to explain that there is often a context. There are many socio-economic factors, and there may have been previous traumas. There are lots of reasons why people might use psychoactive substances."

Chantal Montmorency, executive director of the Association Québécoise pour la promotion de la santé des personnes utilisatrices de drogues (AQPSUD), suggests that many people use drugs to ease physical or emotional pain.

"We're talking about suffering. We need to accept as a society that sometimes, there is physical or mental suffering that requires medication, and if we don't provide people with the substance they need, they'll go elsewhere and self-medicate," she said.

Montmorency says the statistics out of the new report don't surprise her. 

The typical victim is not "the young punk we imagine," she said. In her eyes, they are far more likely to be men from a generation who have not learned to talk about their pain or take care of themselves. 

According to health officials, despite the numbers, more people appear to be stepping up to do their part by equipping themselves with naloxone kits to help reverse the trend. 

Naloxone can save lives by temporarily reversing an opioid overdose, which can buy time until emergency responders show up.

WATCH | How to administer naloxone: