B.C. toxic drug deaths in October lowest in 4 years: coroners service [Video]

Toxic drug deaths in October reached a low not seen in years, according to new preliminary data from the B.C. Coroners Service.

It says 155 British Columbians lost their lives to unregulated drugs in October 2024, the lowest monthly death toll since September 2020. The date equates to about five fatalities per day—while the number has hovered around six or seven for all other months this year.

In the first 10 months of 2024, a total of 1,925 people in B.C. have died of drug overdoses. That marks a “significant decline”—of nine per cent—in deaths compared to 2023, the coroners service says, when 2,107 had died by October.

“The BC Coroners Service does not have the investigative data to suggest why this decrease has occurred, though it is consistent with reporting from other jurisdictions and BCCS is working with partners to understand this further,” the agency wrote in a news …