Nanaimo, B.C. group ringing alarm on fatal overdose numbers, 400% increase in 4 years

The rapid rise in fatal drug overdoses spurred a Nanaimo advocacy group, the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association, to conduct a report on the crisis.

Overdose deaths in Nanaimo, B.C. have climbed by more than 400 per cent from 2019 (27 deaths) to 2023 (112 deaths), according to the BC Coroners Service.

The rapid rise in fatal drug overdoses spurred a Nanaimo advocacy group, the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association, to conduct a report on the crisis.

It aims to shed light on its fatal drug emergency as members of their community are dying at a higher rate than much of the province.

“We see these data as evidence of what the neighbourhoods have already known, so it’s sort of validation of their concerns,” association president Collen Middleton said. “It’s a bloodbath out here.”

According to the report, Nanaimo’s overdose deaths accounted for four per cent of the total amount of deaths in the province, despite only having two per cent of the total population in B.C.

Nanaimo has twice the rate of toxic drug overdoses compared to anywhere else on Vancouver Island. According to BC Emergency Health Services, Nanaimo had 2,136 calls for overdoses in 2023 which is behind only Vancouver, Kelowna and Surrey.

“They’re tired, they’re fed up,” Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said. “And it is extremely frustrating – because the solutions lie at the provincial and to some extent the federal level.”

B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the province is committed to addressing the community’s concerns.