Emergency medical services calls

Figure: Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services calls for suspected opioid-related incidents, by month, 2018–2026

Line graph of monthly opioid-related calls attended by Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services from January 2018 to July 2026. Counts vary widely from month to month (see table, below). The rolling 3-month average count rises from about 15 calls per month in early 2018 to around 80 calls per month by early 2021. Levels remain elevated through 2021, then generally decline throughout 2022. Counts are roughly stable, near 50 calls per month, through most of 2023 and 2024, fall to about 30 calls in early 2025, before increasing again. The number of calls increases dramatically starting in late 2025, with over 100 calls per month in April through June 2026 before falling again in July.

Table: Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services calls for suspected opioid-related incidents, by month, 2018–2026

Month	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
January	4	23	38	67	47	32	46	36	60
February	14	34	58	60	47	51	53	26	61
March	10	45	43	89	56	40	61	46	61
April	13	49	34	68	70	64	61	14	124
May	12	70	55	54	100	68	69	40	114
June	14	41	50	79	80	61	51	43	101
July	9	29	46	75	49	60	43	31	67
August	30	33	44	76	42	55	63	60	-
September	20	37	78	70	51	81	70	37	-
October	19	25	64	86	65	49	46	28	-
November	27	30	60	73	54	42	37	44	-
December	28	52	113	99	85	47	33	54	-
TOTAL	200	468	683	896	746	650	633	459	588

Note:

Counts, especially those from recent months, are preliminary and subject to change.
These data include cases where the responding paramedic suspects opioid involvement. This may differ from the final diagnosis or cause of death.
These data only include instances in which 911 was called and thus are only an estimate of the total number of opioid-related drug poisonings in the community.

Source: Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services, August 6, 2026.

This item was last modified on August 27, 2026

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