Victoria indicators

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Toxic drug deaths in B.C., per year

Area: All of B.C. Calendar year 2025 · Where this covers

1,855 deaths

Getting better

Was 2,025 in 2024

Counting method changed in 2025

Source: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2025 · Full source

What it measures

The number of people in British Columbia who died in a year from toxic drug poisoning, as compiled from coroner data. Up to 2024 the count covers deaths involving opioids; from 2025 the B.C. count covers all unregulated drugs.

Why it matters

Toxic drug deaths are one of the most serious public health emergencies in the province. A Victoria-only open figure is not published, so the provincial number is shown.

Over time

Line chart, 10 periods from 2016 to 2025. Toxic drug deaths in B.C., per year: starts at 807 deaths (2016), ends at 1,855 deaths (2025); highest 2,293 deaths (2023), lowest 807 deaths (2016). Every value is in the table.01,0002,0003,000201720192021202320258071,3001,4019031,5632,0332,1122,2932,0251,8552016: 807 deaths2017: 1,300 deaths2018: 1,401 deaths2019: 903 deaths2020: 1,563 deaths2021: 2,033 deaths2022: 2,112 deaths2023: 2,293 deaths2024: 2,025 deaths2025: 1,855 deaths

The scale starts at 0. Tap, hover or drag along the chart to see each value.

How we decided “getting better”

A lower number means fewer people died of toxic drug poisoning. 1,855 in 2025 compared with 2,025 in 2024 (-8.4%). Rate per 100,000 people: 32.6 in 2025, 35.7 in 2024. The rules.

Source

Period
Calendar year 2025
Updated by agency
Quarterly; latest release Sep 22, 2026
Retrieved
Nov 10, 2026, 11:52 PM B.C. time
Show the numbers as a table
Toxic drug deaths in B.C., per year, All of B.C. (newest first)
PeriodValue
20251,855
20242,025
20232,293
20222,112
20212,033
20201,563
2019903
20181,401
20171,300
2016807

Keep in mind

  • This is the provincial figure. A Victoria or Island Health breakdown exists on the BC Coroners Service dashboard, but that dashboard's data could not be downloaded and checked by script, so it is not shown here yet.
  • Method change: B.C. figures for 2016 to 2024 include only deaths with completed investigations. From 2025 on, the overall B.C. number also includes deaths with ongoing investigations, and covers deaths related to all unregulated drugs, not only opioids. The drop from 2024 to 2025 therefore partly reflects a different way of counting, and the 2025 figure is preliminary and may change (PHAC technical notes, note 9).
  • These counts are compiled by the Public Health Agency of Canada from provincial coroner data and can differ from figures the province publishes directly.
  • Place is where the death occurred, not where the overdose occurred.
  • Preliminary figure for the first quarter of 2026 (January to March): 413 deaths. This is part of a year and is not comparable to the yearly totals.

Where this covers

Area: All of B.C.

The whole province of British Columbia. No open figure is published for Victoria alone.

Included

  • All of British Columbia

Not included

  • No separate figure for Victoria or Island Health is published as open data

How the agency describes it: British Columbia (province-wide; not available for Victoria or Island Health as open data).

Connected to: Provincial (health and coroner services), Federal (national surveillance). This is a label, not a judgement.

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