2023 was the deadliest year for toxic drug deaths in Calgary

Article content

Calgary set a new record in 2023 for the number of deaths by toxic drugs, which killed 629 people, amounting to an average of nearly two people a day.

The death toll in December confirmed what many had been bracing for: the numbers in 2023 would surpass those of 2021, which was previously deemed the deadliest year for such fatalities.

Article content

Fentanyl was the main culprit behind these deaths, according to data supplied by the Government of Alberta. The substance was found in more than 93 per cent of cases. Trailing was methamphetamine, which was present in two-thirds of the fatal overdoses.

Article content

The majority of those who died were men, most of whom were between 25 and 49 years of age. However, the share of women killed by overdoses has been growing, reaching nearly 32 per cent in 2023 from 24 per cent three years earlier.

People are increasingly dying of overdoses in public. More than 36 per cent of users lost their lives outdoors in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 22 in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the share of those overdosing in their residence has sharply fallen.

The provincial data also shows toxic drugs killed 41 people in January and 35 in February, a slight year-over-year decline in the number of deaths from 2023.

The deaths follow pushback against harm-reduction services, which advocates say are crucial to preventing such deaths.

UCP members in their annual general meeting voted in favour of a resolution calling on the current government to end provincial funding for supervised consumption sites, where people can access clean equipment and services, including drug-checking technology, which allows users to check the contents of their drugs.

Article content

Hunter Baril, press secretary to the minister of mental health and addiction, told Postmedia in February that the province is witnessing a “significant” drop in deaths through the Alberta recovery model.

“Opioid addiction is not the only challenge Alberta faces, as we see significant harms as a result of addiction to other substances including alcohol and cocaine,” Baril said.

“It is important to note that while opioids remain a concern, fatalities from prescription drugs are at their lowest in recorded history, fatalities as a result of alcohol are the lowest in recorded history, and fatalities as a result of cocaine are the lowest in recorded history,” said Baril.

Janet Eremenko, Alberta NDP Critic for Mental Health and Addictions, criticized UCP’s measures to address addiction, saying: “It clearly is not good enough. I’m frustrated and deeply saddened, because it doesn’t have to be this way.

“This is a public health crisis, and it’s time this government acts like it,” she said. “For five months, the UCP withheld this data from Albertans. They hid these numbers all while introducing legislation and pouring Albertans’ money into their narrow approach to addiction.”

— With files from Cindy Tran

Article content