B.C. records dramatic rise in deaths among homeless people

Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street as the city works to clear tents from a sprawling homeless encampment in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Aug. 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Coroners in British Columbia say at least 458 homeless people died in 2023, marking a dramatic rise over previous years that is largely attributable to the province’s toxic drug crisis.

The 2023 death toll among the unhoused was 23 per cent higher than the 373 deaths recorded in 2022, and nearly three times higher than the 155 deaths counted in 2020, according to a report published Friday by the B.C. Coroners Service.

More than half of those who died without adequate shelter in 2023, the latest year for which data is available, were between the ages of 30 and 49, and approximately 79 per cent were males, according to the report.

“The data speaks to the tragic reality of the struggles many face in our communities throughout B.C.,” Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, the province’s chief coroner, said in a statement accompanying the report.

Approximately 1,940 homeless deaths were reported to B.C. coroners between 2016 and 2023, Baidwan said, however the numbers are considered preliminary.

Data shows the number of deaths among B.C.’s homeless population held steady between 2016 and 2020, with an average of 162 per year, before rising sharply in 2021.

Ninety-one per cent of homeless deaths in 2023 were classified as accidental, and 86 per cent were due to accidental drug toxicity, according to the report.

The Fraser Health region recorded the highest number of deaths among the unsheltered in 2023, with 117 fatalities, followed by the Island Health region with 114.

The Vancouver Coastal Health authority recorded 95 homeless deaths in 2023, followed by the Interior Health region with 86 deaths and the Northern Health area with 46.

The Vancouver Island region saw the largest year-over-year increase in deaths, rising from 74 in 2022 to 114 in 2023, according to the data.

The coroners’ service report defined homeless people as those living outside and those living in emergency or short-term shelters.