A timeline of British Columbia's 10-year overdose health emergency

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People march down Hastings St. during a rally to condemn the recent arrests of Drug User Liberation Front’s (DULF) founders and raids as well as advocating for the continuation of safe supply drugs in in Vancouver, on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Lenae Silva, who utilizes British Columbia's safe supply program of prescription opioids, poses for a photograph in Nanaimo, B.C., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Onlookers watch as paramedics perform chest compressions to an individual in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Paramedic supervisor Ian Tait poses for a photograph in Chilliwack, B.C., on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Meredith Dan holds a photo of her late son Glenn Rebic, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2019 at the age of 29, while posing for a photograph at the China Creek skatepark where he used to skateboard, in Vancouver, on Friday, March 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Lenae Silva, left, who utilizes British Columbia's safe supply program of prescription opioids, poses for a photograph with her fiance Kent Sexton, in Nanaimo, B.C., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Paramedic supervisor Ian Tait poses for a photograph in Chilliwack, B.C., on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Maria Rantanen shows her tattoo of her late son Michael Rantanen's signature on her forearm, while posing for a photograph in Vancouver, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Her son died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 at the age of 25. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Meredith Dan holds her late son Glenn Rebic's skateboard, while posing for a photograph at the China Creek skatepark where he used to skateboard, in Vancouver, on Friday, March 13, 2026. Rebic died of a fentanyl overdose in 2019 at the age of 29. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Photographs of overdose victims are displayed as members of Moms Stop the Harm mark International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Thursday, August 31, 2023. More than 12,000 lives have been lost to illicit drugs since the province declared a public health emergency in April 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Maria Rantanen holds a photo of her late son Michael Rantanen, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 at the age of 25, while posing for a photograph in Vancouver, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Paramedic supervisor Ian Tait checks equipment in an ambulance, in Chilliwack, B.C., on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Maria Rantanen sits by artwork painted by her late son Michael Rantanen, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 at the age of 25, while posing for a photograph in Vancouver, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Michelle Jansen holds a photo of her late son, Brandon Jansen, who died of a fentanyl overdose at a rehab facility days before his 21st birthday in 2016, while posing for a photograph in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, March 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Michelle Jansen holds a photo of her late son, Brandon Jansen, who died of a fentanyl overdose at a rehab facility days before his 21st birthday in 2016, while posing for a photograph in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, March 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Meredith Dan holds her late son Glenn Rebic's skateboard, while posing for a photograph at the China Creek skatepark where he used to skateboard, in Vancouver, on Friday, March 13, 2026. Rebic died of a fentanyl overdose in 2019 at the age of 29. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — The 10 years of British Columbia’s public health emergency due to drug overdoses has been marked by a catastrophic death toll, which now stands at more than 18,000.

Here are some key dates in the crisis.

April 14, 2016

British Columbia declares a public health emergency over a spike in fatal overdoses. The province had reported 474 apparent illicit drug deaths in 2015, representing a 30 per cent increase from the year before. The 76 deaths in January 2016 were the most in a single month since at least 2007.

July 27, 2016

A task force on overdose response is launched with representatives from public health, police and the BC Centre of Disease Control to “provide expert leadership and advice to the province” on how to respond to the crisis.

The province also says it will “work with the federal government on the establishment of additional supervised consumption sites in B.C., restricting access to pill presses and tableting machines, limiting access to the materials used to manufacture fentanyl and escalating charges for the importation and trafficking of fentanyl.”

September 2017

The provincial government announces $322 million in new funding over three years to address the overdose crisis. The money includes funding for regional response teams and community action teams.

2019

After years of steady climbing, the number of overdose deaths drops 37 per cent in 2019. The coroner reports 992 deaths, compared with 1,566 in 2018.

2020

Deaths from drug overdoses soar in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, up 79 per cent to 1,775 people.

March 26, 2020

British Columbia becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to launch a safer supply policy. The new policy allows for the prescription of pharmaceutical-grade opioids and stimulants to protect those at risk from the poisoned illegal supply.

Sept. 16, 2020

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issues an order under the Health Professions Act, authorizing registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses to prescribe pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs.

May 31, 2022

Groundwork is laid for B.C.’s drug decriminalization experiment, with Health Canada granting the provincial government’s request for an exemption of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that would allow adults to possess a small amount of illicit drugs for personal use without risk of arrest. The exemption is hoped to reduce stigma against those with substance use disorder, while increasing their access to health and social services.

2023

Deaths from overdoses hit a record 2,590 in B.C. in 2025, as the province embarks on drug decriminalization.

Jan. 31, 2023

The three-year exemption is implemented, decriminalizing adult personal possession of up to 2.5 grams cumulatively of opioids, crack and powdered cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA. Possession continues to be prohibited around schools, child-care facilities and airports, and during the operation of motor vehicles.

Nov. 1, 2023

A coroner death review panel recommends providing controlled drugs without prescriptions to people in British Columbia. The pitch is immediately shot down by the provincial government.

May 7, 2024

Health Canada grants an amendment that curtails B.C.’s exemption. Decriminalization is restricted to possession in private homes and places where homeless people are legally sheltering, as well as overdose prevention, drug checking and supervised consumption sites, and health-care clinics providing outpatient addiction services.

June 5, 2024

Dr. Daniel Vigo is named the province’s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders. His job is to analyze “existing mental-health and addictions treatment services in B.C., review data and best practices, and look to other jurisdictions for proven solutions that can be implemented in B.C.”

Sept. 15, 2024

The government announces plans to improve care for people with severe, overlapping mental-health and substance-use challenges, including through involuntary care.

Feb. 7, 2025

A Ministry of Health document distributed by the Opposition B.C. Conservatives says a “significant portion” of opioids prescribed in British Columbia are being diverted, and prescribed alternatives are being trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally. The document says the government has been conducting an investigation into an alleged scheme involving “incentives” paid by dozens of pharmacies to patients, doctors and housing providers.

Feb. 19, 2025

The province revises its Prescribed Alternatives Program to require that the consumption of all prescribed alternatives be witnessed by health professionals.

Jan. 14, 2026

The termination of the decriminalization experiment is confirmed when Health Minister Josie Osborne announces the province will not seek an extension of its exemption agreement with Health Canada. Osborne says the goal of the pilot project was to make it easier for people to come forward and seek help, but it “hasn’t delivered the results” officials hoped for.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.