Suspected drug toxicity deaths
Figure: Suspected drug toxicity deaths, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018-2025
Table: Suspected drug toxicity deaths, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018-2025
| Month | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 11 |
| February | 3 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| March | 7 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 12 |
| April | 6 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 19 | 6 |
| May | 6 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 19 | - |
| June | 5 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 7 | - |
| July | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 12 | - |
| August | 10 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 12 | - |
| September | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 15 | - |
| October | 2 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 9 | - |
| November | 5 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 9 | - |
| December | 4 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 9 | 10 | - |
| TOTAL | 55 | 79 | 135 | 131 | 143 | 135 | 136 | 42 |
Note:
- Counts, especially those from recent months, are preliminary and subject to change
- Suspected drug-related deaths include deaths where the coroner indicated that they suspect the death may be drug-related based on preliminary investigation (e.g. drugs or drug use equipment were found at the scene, history of drug use or naloxone use, physical signs of drug use, etc.). These deaths exclude death associated with trauma (e.g. injuries) and medical assistance in dying cases
- Deaths are assigned to geographic areas based on the location of the drug poisoning or, when that is not available, the location of the death. Counts of deaths in Sudbury and Manitoulin districts may therefore include deaths of residents of other geographic areas who died here. Such deaths will introduce a small error into our calculated rates, the denominators for which are based on population estimates of local residents
Source: Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Monthly Update: Suspect drug-related and drug toxicity deaths in Ontario [Unpublished datafile], received May 12, 2025.
Figure: Annual rates of suspected drug toxicity deaths per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025
Table: Annual rates of suspected drug toxicity deaths per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025
| Year | Sudbury and distrcts | Northern Ontario | Ontario |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 27 | 28 | 16 |
| 2019 | 38 | 32 | 16 |
| 2020 | 65 | 58 | 24 |
| 2021 | 62 | 68 | 27 |
| 2022 | 67 | 60 | 25 |
| 2023 | 62 | 62 | 25 |
| 2024 | 60 | 59 | 22 |
| 2025 (January to April) | 55 | 53 | 16 |
Note:
- Rates, especially those from recent months, are preliminary and subject to change.
- Suspected drug-related deaths include deaths where the coroner indicated that they suspect the death may be drug-related based on preliminary investigation (e.g. drugs or drug use equipment were found at the scene, history of drug use or naloxone use, physical signs of drug use, etc.). These deaths exclude death associated with trauma (e.g. injuries) and medical assistance in dying cases.
- Deaths are assigned to geographic areas based on the location of the drug poisoning or, when that is not available, the location of the death. Counts of deaths in Sudbury and Manitoulin districts may therefore include deaths of residents of other geographic areas who died here. Such deaths will introduce a small error into our calculated rates, the denominators for which are based on population estimates of local residents.
- The rates for the current year have been annualized to represent the annual rates that would be seen if the average monthly counts seen thus far in the year persist for the whole year.
Sources: (1) Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Monthly Update: Suspect drug-related and drug toxicity deaths in Ontario [unpublished datafile], received May 12, 2025, (2) Ontario Ministry of Health, Population Estimates and Projections 2021–2025, IntelliHEALTH Ontario, accessed March 20, 2025.
This item was last modified on May 21, 2025