158 people died of toxic drug deaths in September, down 19 per cent from last year

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s coroner says 158 people died from illicit drug overdoses in September, down almost 20 per cent from the same month last year in a trend that has seen the death rate fall to its lowest level since 2019.

The BC Coroners Service says in a statement that fentanyl or its analogs were found in the system of 84 per cent of those who were tested.

The service’s online dashboard shows the death rate from unregulated drugs in B.C. has dropped sharply since 2023, when 2,589 people died.

This year’s rate is down 31 per cent compared with two years ago, while September’s deaths are down 19 per cent from last year.

It’s part of a decline that has also been occurring across much of North America.

The cities experiencing the highest number of toxic drug deaths this year have been Vancouver at 314 and Surrey with 137, while 93 people died in Greater Victoria.

The service says between January and September the number of youth, aged 18 or younger, who died increased to 20 deaths, compared with 17 during the same period last year.

Almost half of the deaths this year occurred in a private home, while 21 per cent of the deaths occurred outdoors.

Males accounted for the largest number of deaths this year at 78 per cent.

The death rate this year is 32.3 per 100,000 population, compared with 46.8 in 2023. The last year the rate was this low was 2019, when the rate fell to 19.4 per 100,000.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2025.