Is the drop in B.C. overdose deaths part of a wider North American phenomenon?

People congregate in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on March 23. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Article content

After years of an ever-worsening toxic drug crisis, B.C.’s overdose death rate is dropping, with experts saying the reasons for the downturn are complicated.

Article content

While the government and some other politicians are touting the government’s shift away from harm reduction and toward treatment and recovery, they also acknowledge policy changes aren’t the entire reason for the reduced number of deaths.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Addiction specialists and advocates say that the lowering levels of fentanyl in the drug supply and the proliferation of life-saving medications are also part of the picture, as is a reduction in the number of people using drugs.

Article content

Article content

In May, 109 people lost their lives from toxic drugs in B.C., the lowest recorded total in the province since February 2020, just before the onset of COVID-19, according to the B.C. Coroner’s Service.

Article content

Toxic drug deaths have been steadily declining for the past two years, with the yearly total peaking at 2,593 in 2023 before dropping to 2,318 in 2024 and 1,821 in 2025.

Article content

So far this year, there have been 630 deaths, with the province potentially on course to mark the lowest total of lives lost since 2017, the year after the public health emergency for the toxic drug crisis was first announced.

Article content

Article content

In a statement, Health Minister Josie Osborne acknowledged there are lots of different factors for the lowering death rate.

Article content

“There is no single reason for this decline, and the data suggests it is likely the result of a number of factors including increased awareness of overdose prevention and response, along with expanded health and social supports that help to address complex challenges including homelessness,” said Osborne. “That’s why we’re working urgently to build a full and comprehensive system of mental-health and treatment care that works for everyone, including prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services, aftercare services, harm reduction and more.”

Article content

Article content

Dr. Daniel Vigo, Premier David Eby’s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, said the drop is down to a number of factors, including the changing drug supply and a shift in provincial policies toward treatment and recovery.

Article content

Article content

“We put all our efforts in maximizing those evidence-based treatments that allow people to stay free of drugs, that allow people to stay in recovery, and, of course, we will maintain those harm reduction measures that have shown to be effective,” said Vigo.

Article content

Dr. Daniel Vigo speaking in 2024. From left, in background: Premier David Eby, Attorney General Niki Sharma and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. Photo by Don Craig

Article content

Independent MLA Elenore Sturko, long a critic of safe supply and decriminalization, believes the government’s reversal of decriminalization in the lead-up to the 2024 election and its slow rollback of the safe supply program have helped reduce the death toll.

Article content

“The focus and the shift that I’ve seen from the government that we actually need to continue to promote is one that treats the person, helps them with their addiction, treats underlying mental illness, responds to things like brain injury and provides complex care for those that need it,” said Sturko. “Instead of spending millions of dollars trying to make a safe supply of drugs, for example, or teaching people a ‘safe way’ to do drugs.”