Opioid deaths in Canada fell 17% but 20 people still died per day in 2024
Global News
The data for 2024 released Wednesday by the Public Health Agency of Canada showed 7,146 deaths were recorded last year, 80 per cent of which were in just three provinces.
An average of 20 Canadians died from an opioid overdose every day last year, federal health officials say, despite opioid-related drug toxicity deaths falling 17 per cent from the year before.
The data for 2024 released Wednesday by the Public Health Agency of Canada showed 7,146 deaths were recorded last year. Eighty per cent of those occurred in just three provinces — British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario — although all three saw decreases from 2023.
Increased deaths in 2024 compared to the year prior were reported in Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a joint statement from the country’s chief medical officers of health, chief coroners and chief medical examiners.
“Due to colonialization and continued marginalization, many Indigenous communities have also experienced increases in deaths and disproportionate harms, particularly among Indigenous women,” the statement said.
Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island saw “little or no change” in deaths between 2023 and 2024, while all other provinces and territories saw decreases.
Hospitalizations related to opioid poisoning also declined in 2024 by 15 per cent, with 5,514 patients nationwide. There were 24,587 emergency room visits and 36,266 responses by emergency first responders to suspected opioid-related overdoses last year, both also down by about 15 per cent on average.
The statement from health officials noted some provinces and territories believe the decreases in deaths “may be attributable — at least in part — to a shift to lower toxicity of the drug supply, based on drug checking data indicating a decrease in fentanyl concentrations.”
Fentanyl still accounted for about three-quarters of all opioid-related deaths in 2024, according to the data. While that rate is up from just over 40 per cent in 2016, it appears to have stabilized in recent years.
Ontario Provincial Police are warning the pubic of fraudsters who are impersonating officers and using spoofed phone number that appear legitimate.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed Tuesday, one day after powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and upended air travel in multiple cities.
The parent company of Bell Canada is planning to build a new data centre outside Regina that is billed to be a major contribution to Canada’s artificial intelligence sovereignty.
Kinew now says the province is taking a step back from this approach and ensuring that different health-care interventions are built within the site before opening.
In Thailand, an order for civil servants to work from home for the foreseeable future came with another – use the stairs while the energy squeeze continues.
The police agency in a news release on Monday said it was continuing a trend of 'persistently high levels' of both types of interpersonal violence.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford saw his attempts to stop his cellphone records being partially released blocked by a panel of judges. Critics say he's changing the law as a result.
It is believed to have been left by local troublemakers, though RCMP said in an email there was no criminality involved in the situation.
Hypothermia contributed to the deaths of 62 people in 2023, with nine of them considered homeless, and 57 deaths in 2024 with 11 people listed as homeless.
According to Transport Canada, 'the seatback recliners for the second-row seats may not have been manufactured properly' on certain vehicles.
The teen originally pleaded not guilty in February 2025, before changing her plea in December. The Crown and defence jointly submitted a maximum youth sentence of three years.
The government in 2024 banned supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, targeting 10 sites across the province for closure by the end of March 2025.
A few weeks ago, Eric Sauvageau received a call from someone he believed was his son. He withdrew thousands from the bank and paid it before realizing he'd been scammed.