Toxic drug deaths in B.C. down in May, June, coroner says

The number of deaths due to toxic drugs fell to below 150 people per month for May and June in British Columbia, according to B.C.'s coroner, a downward trend from the same months last year. 

The B.C. Coroners Service says in its latest report that the province recorded 145 deaths in May compared with 181 for the same month last year.

There were 147 overdose deaths in June, down from 185 the year before. 

The coroner says 69 per cent of the drug-toxicity deaths in 2025 are adult men between the ages of 30 and 59, and 78 per cent of all deaths this year have been men. 

The statistics show that the opioid fentanyl is the most common substance detected in those who died this year, followed by methamphetamine and cocaine. The report also says that the presence of carfentanil — an opioid considered to be 100 times more powerful than fentanyl — in toxic drug deaths is increasing compared to 2024.

Nearly half of the deaths so far this year have happened in a private residence, while 20.5 per cent happened outside. 

Smoking continues to be the most common mode of consumption in toxic drug deaths, with 64 per cent of investigations indicating the person who died smoked their substances, the statement says 

The highest toxic drugs death rate this year is in the Northern Health region with 44 deaths per 100,000 people, and the cities with the highest tolls are Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria.

Occupations

The B.C. Coroners Service and provincial government have also released the occupations of those who died from 2022 to 2024.

The two most common job categories are trades and sales. More specifically, those employed in trades, transport and equipment operation account for 21 per cent of deaths on average, and people employed in the sales and service sector account for 10 per cent.

However, in 55 per cent of toxic drug deaths over those three years, the individual's occupation was unknown. 

Trades are known to have higher-than-average rates of substance use, so much so that the Construction Foundation of B.C. is launching a new mental health initiative to address the struggles faced by people, often men, in that industry. 

John Oliffe, the Canada Research Chair in men's health promotion at University of British Columbia, has said long shifts and physically demanding work may contribute to recreational drug use and self-medicating with substances.