Between Jan. 1 and April 30 this year, 28 people in Prince George have died as a result of unregulated drug use, including seven in April, according to data released by the BC Coroners Service on Thursday.
The Prince George local health area - which includes Prince George, Mackenzie, Valemount, McBride, Hixon, McLeod Lake, Kwadacha and the surrounding rural areas – has seen 31 drug-related deaths in 2023, as of April 30. In the first four months of the year, the Prince George local health area has seen an annualized death rate of 86.6 deaths per 100,000 people, nearly double the provincial average of 45 deaths per 100,000 people.
"In April, we lost 206 people to the toxic illicit drug supply. These were friends, family, neighbours and co-workers, and my heart goes out to all of the loved ones left behind in the wake of the toxic drug crisis,” B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside said in a statement issued on Thursday. "This crisis continues to take its toll in every part of our province, and I am grateful for the dedicated work of front-line workers and peers who save lives every day, and answer the call when people in our province need them.”
Prince George has seen a rapid escalation in unregulated drug deaths over the past decade. Between 2013 and 2017, the city averaged 14.2 drug deaths per year. Between 2018 and 2022, the city averaged 66.8 deaths per year linked to unregulated drug use.
The Prince George local health area has the eighth-highest death rate among B.C. local health areas, after Vancouver-Centre North (587.7 per 100,000), Terrace (157.9 per 100,000), Greater Campbell River (115.6 per 100,000), Princeton (109.4 per 100,000), Greater Naniamo (105.8 per 100,000), Vancouver-City Centre (103 per 100,000) and Merritt (100.1 per 100,000).
So far this year, 63 unregulated drug deaths have been reported in the Northern Health region, including 17 in April, which includes the deaths reported in Prince George.
The Northern Health region has the highest unregulated drug deaths in the province this year, at an annualized rate of 61.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
