Prince George was home to 17 deaths from illicit drug overdoses, according to year-end information released Wednesday by the BC Coroners Service.
That's up from 12 in 2015 and 10 in 2014.
British Columbia, meanwhile, reached a new peak of 914 such deaths last year with the arrival of the deadly opioid fentanyl.
The figure is almost 80 per cent higher than the 510 overdose deaths due to illicit drugs in 2015.
"We recognize that those who are suffering from drug dependency are not going to be able to abstain immediately from drug use," said Lisa Lapointe, the province's chief coroner.
"Given the increasing risk of contaminated drugs and the growing number of fatalities, though, we urge them to use illicit drugs only in the presence of medical expertise or, at the very least, a sober person with access to, and training in, the use of naloxone."
The BC Coroners Service said December was the worst month at 142 deaths, the highest ever recovered in a month. The Northern Health region saw 10 deaths in December.
Overall, northern B.C. accounted for just five per cent of the fatal overdoses in the province last year.
The Fraser Health Authority region saw 301 of the 914 deaths last year, followed by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority with 253, Interior Health with 156, and Vancouver Island with 155.
A report on the number of fatal overdoses attributable to fentanyl was not released as the Coroners Service does not yet have year-end data available. That data is expected to be available in March.
- with files from Canadian Press
