Canada records almost 50,000 deaths from fentanyl since 2016 | Drugs News [Video]

Fentanyl is increasingly behind opioid overdose deaths in Canada, according to new government data.

The national health agency on Monday reported that nearly 50,000 people in the North American country died from opioid overdose deaths from January 2016 to June 2024.

During that period, fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid sometimes prescribed for pain relief, accounted for 49,105 of the deaths.

Meanwhile, the proportion of fentanyl deaths has increased, according to the data, accounting for 79 percent of opioid deaths so far this year. That is a 39 percent increase since 2016.

The data was released just weeks before United States President-elect Donald Trump is set to enter the White House.

Trump’s looming presidency has drawn increased attention to the opioid crisis in North America, with the president-elect threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico if the neighbours did not do more to stem the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants crossing into the US.

Canada’s government last week announced a …