WINNIPEG - Mounties in Manitoba have administered the opioid antidote naloxone for the first time to help a young man suffering from a suspected fentanyl overdose.

Police say they were called last Friday evening to a home in the southeast corner of the province, where they found the unconscious 20-year-old victim with a low pulse and breathing problems.

An ambulance was still eight minutes away, so officers gave him a dose of nasal naloxone.

Lingering breathing problems led to two more shots to stabilize him before he was taken to hospital.

The man has since been released.

Police also seized what they think is fentanyl, but they have not released the location to protect the victim's identity.