Records broken as more than 2,500 people die from overdoses in BC in 2023

The BC Coroners Service has revealed there were 2,511 suspected illicit drug deaths last year, the highest annual toll ever recorded.

Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said close to 14,000 people have died since the province declared a public health emergency in April 2016.

Lapointe said the surging death toll is a direct result of the powerful opioid fentanyl, which continues to be the main driver in drug deaths.

She added that 70 per cent of those who died last year were between the ages of 30 and 59, and more than three quarters were male.

Lapointe said thousands of people have died preventable deaths since the emergency was declared, with a focus on policing and punishment instead of underlying reasons for drug use such as pain, trauma and mental health issues.

She said the highest rates of death were in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and in Hope, a community of about 6,000 at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley.

Kelowna saw the largest death toll in the Interior in 2023, with 101. Prince George recorded 89 deaths, Kamloops 80, Vernon 51 and Penticton 22.

On the Island, the Greater Victoria Area saw 168 deaths and Nanaimo 112.

"Tragically, toxic, illicit drugs are continuing to cause unprecedented numbers of deaths across our province," Lapointe said.

"This crisis, driven primarily by unregulated fentanyl, has cost our province dearly in the loss of much-loved and valued members of our communities. We cannot bring our deceased loved ones back, but we can and must do much more to protect the lives of tens of thousands of our family members, friends and colleagues still at risk."

The overdose death toll dipped in 2019 to fewer than 1,000 deaths, but those numbers surged through the pandemic to a high of more than 2,300 people in 2021 only to be surpassed by the 2023 figure.

Most drug deaths in 2023 occurred indoors, the BC Coroners Service said, with 47 per cent in private homes and 33 per cent in the likes of social housing and shelters.

Another 19 per cent occurred outside on sidewalks, in cars or in parks.

One death occurred inside an overdose prevention site, where people can receive drugs, or take them while being watched by specialist staff.

The BC Coroners Service said there is "no indication that prescribed safer supply is contributing to unregulated drug deaths."

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside said each life lost to drugs "was precious and important."

"My commitment to ending this crisis is unwavering," she said. "Our government is taking action to strengthen mental-health and addiction services across the spectrum of needs – from early intervention and prevention, to housing, to treatment and recovery.

"Our goal is to ensure that accessible, effective care is there for everyone, right when they need it."

She added: "Last year, we made significant progress, announcing the addition of 12 more Foundry centres, enhancing peer-assisted care teams, and creating more access to bed-based treatment, as well as outpatient and virtual care. And we have recently launched public awareness campaigns to share messages of hope, and to help people connect to the right care for them."

The minister also pointed to a recent study that claims BC's prescribed drugs program "reduces the risk of death by as much as 91 per cent in people with opioid-use disorder."

"Our actions are making a meaningful difference and are saving lives," she said, adding: "As we face the ongoing tragedy of the toxic-drug crisis, our dedication to ending this public-health emergency is as strong as ever."

Lapointe said the province needs a "co-ordinated, evidence-based response that is commensurate with the scale of this health crisis."

"Deaths due to drug toxicity are preventable, and I urge our political leaders at all levels to collaborate on a thoughtful, comprehensive plan that puts people first."

Lapointe also said that asking doctors to prescribe a safe supply will not address the crisis.

"One million people in our province don’t have access to a family doctor, never mind the focused and specialized expertise needed to address a public health emergency of this magnitude," she said.

"Unless we are willing to act thoughtfully, carefully and with courage to provide a safer supply for the tens of thousands of people at risk in our province, we will continue to count the dead, more people will suffer and more families will grieve."

It’s estimated that 225,000 people in BC get drugs from the toxic, illicit market, putting them all at risk, the chief coroner said.

Those who use drugs are "not bad people," but family members and friends and the politicization of the overdose crisis has been "extremely disappointing," she said.

Lapointe, who retires in February, hit out at the NDP government in December, lamenting a "one−off, beds and projects" response to the drugs emergency.

"We see these ad hoc announcements but sadly what we haven’t seen is a thoughtful, evidence−based, data−driven plan for how we are going to reduce the number of deaths in our province," she added.

A statement from the group Moms Stop The Harm said it’s evident that actions the BC government has taken so far have had no effect to reduce a death rate of about seven people every day.

"Money and resources spent have not made any impact," the group said.

"As a result, people who use drugs in BC, including our most vulnerable citizens, continue to be at risk. Courageous and bold action must be taken, and instead politicians posture for their own gains."

"BC should be playing a leadership role on resolving the toxic drug crisis. Instead, the province is again leading the country’s overdose deaths," the statement said.

BC United leader Kevin Falcon, meanwhile, said today's announcement is a "damning indictment" of the NDP's "disastrous decriminalization policy which has recklessly endangered lives."

He added: “The consequences of this government’s negligence can be seen in the lives lost, families broken and communities suffering.”

– With files from Canadian Press