The B.C. Coroners Service has released updated data showing the province’s overdose crisis continued into 2025.
The data show 343 people died from unregulated drug toxicity on Vancouver Island last year, including two in the north island region, while nine deaths were reported in Powell River and 11 in the rest of the Sunshine Coast. These totals include 76 in the Greater Nanaimo area, 43 in Greater Campbell River, 38 in the Cowichan Valley and 20 in the Comox Valley.
Provincewide, preliminary figures show 136 suspected drug toxicity deaths in November and 141 in December, bringing the 2025 total to 1,826. This is the first time since 2020 that the annual total has been below 2,000.
The coroners service said the provincial total reflects a 21 per cent decrease from the 2,315 deaths reported in 2024.
Fentanyl and its analogues were detected in 69 per cent of the suspected drug toxicity deaths in the province through 2025, the release said.
The province declared a public health emergency in response to the ongoing overdose crisis in 2016.
Click here for more data from the B.C. Coroners Service.
– Article includes files from B.C. Coroners Service
