The B.C. Coroners Service said there were a total of 292 suspected unregulated drug deaths in May and June, amounting to a little under five deaths per day.
Preliminary data released Thursday show 145 people died in May, and 147 died in June from suspected overdoses.Â
A total of 915 people have died in B.C. so far this year from toxic drugs. Last year, there were 2306 deaths across the province, down from 2588 in 2023.Â
The cities experiencing the highest number of unregulated drug deaths so far in 2025 are Vancouver, Surrey and Greater Victoria.
The Fraser Health Authority region has seen the highest number of unregulated drug deaths, with 269. The Vancouver Coastal Health region has seen the second highest, at 238 deaths. Together they represent 55 per cent of all deaths this year.Â
The highest rates of deaths reported were in Northern Health, at 44 per 100,000.
Out of those who have died this year, 70 per cent had fentanyl in their system. The Coroner’s Service said the number of deaths where the highly-potent carfentanil was detected has increased in recent months.
In 2025, deaths among those between the ages of 30 and 59 accounted for 69 per cent of drug-toxicity deaths in the province, and 78 per cent were male.
The Coroner’s Service said smoking was the main way of ingesting the drugs among those who died.
