National data shows overdose deaths dropped in 2024 but still higher than pre-pandemic

TORONTO — National health data shows overdose deaths in Canada dropped in 2024 but the toll still remained much higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A joint statement from the country’s chief medical officers of health, chief coroners and chief medical examiners says 7,146 people died of opioid-related overdoses last year.

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That’s down from 8,623 deaths in 2023 but much higher than the 3,742 deaths reported in 2019.

The statement notes that the national numbers “mask important regional differences,” with Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories reporting a rise in opioid-related deaths in 2024.

The number of people who died decreased in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Yukon and stayed about the same in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

There was no data available for Nunavut.

Many Indigenous communities saw an increase in opioid-related deaths, especially among women, between 2023 and 2024 “due to colonialization and continued marginalization,” the statement said.

“The overdose crisis, driven by a toxic illegal drug supply, is one of the most serious public health crises our country has ever faced,” it said.

Some provinces and territories that had fewer deaths in 2024 attributed the drop, at least partly, to “a shift to lower toxicity of the drug supply, based on drug-checking data indicating a decrease in fentanyl concentrations,” the statement said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press