B.C. toxic drug deaths increase after months-long downward trend: coroner

This photo from te website for "Sudden Silence: Hidden Voices" shows members of Moms Stop the Harm on a Vancouver beach raising awareness about the toxic drug crisis.

The number of deaths from unregulated toxic drugs in British Columbia spiked in April, according to data from the province’s Coroners Service.

Information released Tuesday shows 165 people died that month – marking the first time since October of last year the number of monthly deaths exceeded 155. The increase translates to 5.5 deaths a day, on average – compared to 4.5 per day in March.

“Consistent with reporting throughout the public-health emergency, fentanyl and its analogues continue to be the most common substance detected in expedited toxicological testing,” a summary from the BC Coroners Service said.

“More than three-quarters of decedents who underwent expedited testing in 2025 were found to have fentanyl in their systems.”

Men continue to account for more than three quarters of fatalities and the majority of deaths – 78 per cent – continue to occur indoors. Smoking persists as the most common mode of consumption for 2025, accounting for 68 per cent of drug deaths.

Northern Health and Interior Health have the highest death rates in the province, while cities seeing the highest number of deaths so far this are Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria.

The reason for the months-long downward trend in deaths prior to April was unclear, according to experts that spoke to CTV News earlier this year. Notably, the decline was not unique to B.C. and a similar trend was observed in Alberta, Ontario, and the United States.

• Read more: Toxic drug deaths appear to be falling in B.C.—and no one is sure why

Frontline workers, advocates and policy analysts told CTV News they were trying to better understand what was happening locally, considering a range or combination of possible factors including: a change in the drug supply, the possibility that many illicit drug users have already died, the potential that casual drug use has declined due to the volatility of the supply, and increased availability of Naloxone and access to supervised consumption sites.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Penny Daflos