133 drug-toxicity deaths in B.C. in September, coroner says

At least 133 people died in British Columbia in September from suspected unregulated drug toxicity, the B.C. Coroners Service said Thursday, bringing the provincial toll to 1,143 for the first nine months of 2026.

The September figure works out to about four deaths a day across the province, according to the coroners service’s preliminary data, which the province released through the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Vancouver Coastal Health, the region that includes Vancouver, has recorded 298 deaths so far this year, or about 26 per cent of the provincial total. Only the Fraser Health region, with 311 deaths, has recorded more. Together the two regions account for 609 deaths, or 53 per cent, according to the release.

Northern Health continues to have the highest rate of unregulated drug-toxicity deaths in the province in 2026, at 43.4 deaths per 100,000 people.

Deaths among people aged 30 to 59 make up 70 per cent of the total this year, and 76 per cent of those who died are male. About 78 per cent of deaths happened indoors, in places such as private homes, social and supportive housing, single-room occupancy hotels, shelters and hotels. Another 20 per cent happened outside, including in vehicles, on sidewalks and streets, and in campgrounds and parks.

Expedited toxicology testing detected fluorofentanyl in 68 per cent of people who died this year. Cocaine was found in 55 per cent, methamphetamine in 53 per cent, fentanyl in 50 per cent and desalkylgidazepam in 20 per cent. Smoking is the most common way the drugs were consumed, at 67 per cent of deaths.

The coroners service cautioned that the data is preliminary and may change as toxicology results come in and investigations are completed. The percentages above are as reported by the service, while the Vancouver Coastal share and the combined Fraser and Vancouver Coastal total were calculated by Canada News Media from the service’s regional counts.

The nine-month toll averages out to about 4.2 deaths a day. Governments across the country have also made housing a larger part of their response to overdose deaths, including a federal pledge of $11.2 billion to end homelessness over a decade, which we reported in Budget 2026 pledges $11.2B to end homelessness in a decade.

Source: B.C. Coroners Service news release, Nov. 12, 2026.

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