Thirty-five people in New West lost their lives to unregulated drugs in 2024 — representing two per cent of all deaths in British Columbia.
The latest report from the BC Coroners Service stated 2,253 lives were lost to people in communities across B.C. in 2024, demonstrating the continued impact of unregulated drug toxicity. It said the 2,253 deaths from unregulated drugs represents a 13 per cent decrease from 2023 and fewer annual deaths than from any of the previous three years.
"The information collected by our coroners during their investigations into unregulated drug toxicity deaths, indicates a decline in fatalities over the last several months of 2024. This is consistent with reporting from other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally," chief coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said in a news release. "This doesn't mitigate the fact that 2,253 members of our communities died in 2024, leaving behind grieving loved ones, friends, colleagues and teammates. Our thoughts are with all of those many, many people who have been touched by this crisis."
The 35 deaths in New Westminster in 2024 is down from the 39 reported in 2023, but up from 32 in 2022. That followed 47 deaths in 2021, 35 in 2020, 20 in 2019, 35 in 2018, 24 in 2017, and 10 in 2016.
The report stated about seven in every 10 people who died in 2024 were between the ages of 30 and 59, and nearly three-quarters were male. It noted the rate of death among females in 2024 was 20 per 100,000, which was a 65 per cent increase from 2020 (13 per 100,000) and a slight reduction from 2023 (21 per 100,000).
“As in years prior, the drug toxicity crisis affected cities of all sizes in 2024,” said the news release. “By local health area, the highest rates of death per 100,000 were in Vancouver-Centre North (422), Lillooet (116), Greater Campbell River (109), Terrace (109) and Prince George (103).”
Fentanyl and its analogues continue to be the primary driver of unregulated drug toxicity deaths in B.C., detected in 78 per cent of expedited toxicological testing in 2024. Cocaine (52 per cent), fluorofentanyl (46 per cent), methamphetamine (43 per cent) and bromazolam (41 per cent) were the other most common substances detected in toxicology.
The coroners service said it's important to note that the data from its report is preliminary and subject to change as additional toxicology results are received and investigations are concluded.
According to the BC Coroners Service, the lives of at least 16,047 people in B.C. have been lost to unregulated drug toxicity since the public health emergency was first declared in April 2016.
