Much like its neighbor to the south, Canada is currently struggling with an opioid overdose crisis. Although the crisis in Canada has not reached the levels of harm that have come to define
, opioid abuse and overdose remain relevant and growing problems in Canada and have only been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. As with the United States, the opioid crisis in Canada began with a rise in opioid prescriptions and is now driven by powerful illegally manufactured synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Although opioid prescriptions have declined in response to the crisis, illegally manufactured synthetic opioids like fentanyl and its analogues now often find their way into many illegal drugs. Fentanyl can be deadly in even small amounts and is now involved in most accidental overdose deaths. In 2016, there were a total of 2,827
. In 2022, this number increased to around 7,328, with the vast majority of deaths accidental in nature. The opioid crisis has been a major topic of discussion in Canada in recent years, but was recently overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a survey from 2021 found that around 45 percent of
, while 31 percent felt it was a minor problem. Only nine percent of respondents stated opioid use was not a problem in their community.
Opioid-related hospitalizations
The opioid crisis in Canada can most easily be measured in opioid-related emergency responses, hospitalizations, and overdose deaths. The
rate of hospitalizations due to opioid poisoning fluctuated from 2016 to 2022, with around 17.3 opioid poisoning hospitalizations per 100,000 population in 2022. Although the crisis has touched the entire country,
some regions have been more impacted than others. For example, in 2022 the hospitalization rate for opioid poisoning in British Columbia was 31.3 per 100,000 population, compared to 13 in Ontario, and just 6.6 per 100,000 in Nova Scotia. Overall,
males account for more opioid-related hospitalizations than females, with around 60 percent of such hospitalizations in 2020 occurring among males. Although hospitalizations for many other conditions declined during the COVID-19 pandemic,
hospitalizations for both opioid poisoning and opioid use disorder increased, highlighting another unintended consequence of the pandemic.
Opioid overdose deaths
The
provinces with the highest rates of opioid overdose death are British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. However, Ontario reported the single highest number of opioid overdose deaths in 2022, with 2,501. At that time, those aged 30 to 39 years accounted for 28 percent of all opioid-related deaths in Canada, the
highest share of any age group. Although the opioid crisis in Canada began with the overprescribing of pharmaceutical opioids, they now account for only about 12 percent of accidental opioid overdose deaths in Canada, with most deaths resulting from the use of
non-pharmaceutical opioids such as fentanyl. Nevertheless, there are vast differences among the provinces in which opioids cause the most deaths. For example, non-pharmaceutical opioids caused 79 percent of opioid deaths in British Columbia, but only 19 percent of deaths in Nova Scotia where 74 percent of opioid overdose deaths were the result of pharmaceutical opioids. Overall,
fentanyl was involved in 92 percent of accidental opioid overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2022, and 86 percent of deaths in Alberta.
Solutions to end the crisis
In response to the opioid crisis the Government of Canada has taken steps to educate the public on the dangers of opioids, provide treatment to those addicted to such drugs, and try to decrease the number of illegal opioids in the country. One example of how the country has tried to decrease the number of overdose deaths is through the opening of supervised consumption sites in which drug addicts can bring and use their own drugs in a safe environment in the presence of trained staff. A survey from 2021 found that 56 percent of
Canadians strongly or moderately supported setting up more “harm reduction” strategies such as these supervised injection sites, while 77 percent supported launching more education and awareness campaigns about drug use and 76 percent supported creating more spaces for drug rehabilitation. As Canada continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, more focus will be needed to address the mounting opioid crisis, with physicians, law enforcement, the government, and the public all playing a vital role in mitigating one the country’s biggest public health issues.
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