Overdose & Drug Poisoning Data

BC Emergency Health Services is consistently monitoring the potential overdose/poisoning call volumes across the province and reporting out on the data.

Overdose call volumes

The yearly total reflects the number of overdose/poisoning calls paramedics have responded to in each community. Here are the top communities within the province, with the number of calls for 2024.

To see the number of calls broken down by year, from 2016 to 2024, see Overdose Response in B.C. Communities (PDF).

100 Mile House: 22
Abbotsford: 1,501
Agassiz: 43
Armstrong: 12
Burnaby: 739
Burns Lake: 32
Campbell River: 952
Castlegar: 23
Central Saanich: 58
Chase: 11
Chemainus: 17
Chilliwack: 1,052
Cobble Hill: 17
Coldstream: 8
Colwood: 70
Comox: 31
Coquitlam: 599
Courtenay: 634
Cranbrook: 237
Creston: 26
Dawson Creek: 169
Delta: 177
Duncan: 997
Enderby: 18
Esquimalt: 76
Fort Nelson: 27
Fort St James: 49
Fort St John: 227
Gabriola Island: 31
Gibsons: 35
Golden: 10
Grand Forks: 52
Hope: 63
Houston: 24
Kamloops: 1,226
Kamloops IR No 1: 32
Kelowna: 2,032
Keremeos: 12
Kimberley: 17
Kitimat: 45
Ladysmith: 47
Lake Country: 32
Lake Cowichan: 26
Langford: 210
Langley: 871
Lantzville: 7
Lillooet: 26
Mackenzie: 14
Maple Ridge: 797
Merritt: 78
Mission: 383
Nanaimo: 1,525
Nelson: 261
New Westminster: 565
North Saanich: 12
North Vancouver: 400
Oak Bay: 32
Oliver: 65
Osoyoos: 28
Parksville: 126
Peachland: 10
Penticton: 529
Pitt Meadows: 38
Port Alberni: 360
Port Coquitlam: 253
Port Hardy: 99
Port Moody: 47
Powell River: 140
Prince George: 1,758
Prince Rupert: 84
Princeton: 17
Qualicum Beach: 32
Quesnel: 150
Revelstoke: 15
Richmond: 391
Saanich: 419
Salmon Arm: 173
Salt Spring Island: 21
Sechelt: 152
Shawnigan Lake: 11
Sidney: 20
Smithers: 95
Sooke: 137
Squamish: 177
Summerland: 28
Surrey: 3,335
Terrace: 424
Thornhill: 18
Tofino: 21
Trail: 183
Vancouver: 9,564
Vanderhoof: 25
Vernon: 770
Victoria: 2,381
View Royal: 44
West Kelowna: 213
West Vancouver: 101
Whistler: 49
White Rock: 55
Williams Lake: 239
Other communities: 1,088

Key findings 2024

Key findings in BCEHS 2024 overdose/poisoning call data

(Data are subject to change as they may be updated following reviews)

Since the public health emergency for toxic drugs was declared in 2016, BCEHS has seen a 110% total increase in annual overdose/poisoning events.

In 2024, BCEHS paramedics responded to a total of 40,543 overdose/poisoning patient events for the year, an average of 111 calls a day.

The total number of responses to overdoses/poisonings (40,543) represented a decrease of 4% from the previous year. The average monthly calls are more than 3,300 per month.

BCEHS experienced 10 months with more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls in 2024.

Overdose/poisoning calls in B.C.

2024: 40,543 (down 4% from previous year)
2023: 42,172 (up 25% from previous year)
2022: 33,654 (down 5% compared with last year)
2021: 35,585 (up 31% over the previous year)
2020: 27,068 (up 12% over the previous year)
2019: 24,166 (up 2% over the previous year)
2018: 23,662 (up 1% over the previous year)
2017: 23,441 (up 22% over the previous year
2016: 19,275 (up 57% over the previous year)
2015: 12,263
2004-2015: Prior to 2016, overdose/poisoning calls in B.C. fluctuated from 10,000 to 15,000 calls a year.

Overdose/poisoning calls by health authority region in 2024

Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions (which together represent about 50% of B.C.’s population) continue to report the highest number of overdose/poisoning calls.

All health authorities had a decrease in overdose/poisoning calls in 2024, with the exception of Fraser Health.

Fraser Health overdose/poisoning calls increased (+3%)
Interior Health had the largest decrease (-9%)
Vancouver Coastal Health had the second-highest decrease (-6%)

Here is the breakdown of overdose/poisoning calls in each health authority:

Vancouver Coastal Health: 11,092 (-6%)
Fraser Health: 10,585 (+3%)
Island Health: 8,630 (-5%)
Interior Health: 6,804 (-9%)
Northern Health: 3,432 (-2%)

Here is the breakdown across the last seven years:

Vancouver Coastal:

2024: 11,092
2023: 11,830
2022: 9,071
2021: 11,204
2020: 9,041
2019: 9,407
2018: 8,686
2017: 8,697
2016: 6,714

Fraser Health:

2024: 10,585
2023: 10,254
2022: 9,537
2021: 10,573
2020: 7,272
2019: 6,478
2018: 6,513
2017: 6,554
2016: 5,927

Island Health:

2024: 8,630
2023: 9,086
2022: 6,277
2021: 5,917
2020: 4,446
2019: 3,852
2018: 4,102
2017: 3,821
2016: 3,122

Interior Health:

2024: 6,804
2023: 7,504
2022: 5,931
2021: 5,417
2020: 4,211
2019: 3,097
2018: 3,129
2017: 3,284
2016: 2,599

Northern Health:

2024: 3,432
2023: 3,498
2022: 2,838
2021: 2,414
2020: 2,077
2019: 1,332
2018: 1,232
2017: 1,085
2016: 913

British Columbia:

2024: 40,543
2023: 42,172
2022: 33,654
2021: 35,585
2020: 27,067
2019: 24,116
2018: 23,662
2017: 23,441
2016: 19,275

Top 5 communities for overdose/poisoning calls

BCEHS receives the most calls for overdoses/poisonings from large metro centres: Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.

The top 5 communities for overdose/poisoning calls in 2024 are below, with the percentage increase over 2023:

Vancouver: 9,564 (-9.1 %)
Surrey: 3,335 (+6.5%)
Victoria: 2,381 (+5.3%)
Kelowna: 2,032 (-10.6%)
Prince George: 1,758 (-4%)

Highest call volume days

BCEHS paramedics responded to an average of 111 overdose/poisoning calls per day in B.C. during 2024, down from 116 in 2023.

On June 21, 2023, BCEHS recorded 221 calls for overdose/poisonings. It remains the highest call volume day to date.

Highest call volume months

In July 2024, paramedics in B.C. responded to 3,907 overdose/poisoning calls. However, the highest number of overdoses ever recorded in a single month is still July 2023: 3,944 overdose calls.

With the exception of November and December, BCEHS paramedics responded to more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls each month in 2024. The average monthly call volume, prior to the pandemic, had been about 2,000 overdose calls a month.

Trends

Based on data in 2024 for Card 23 (overdose/poisoning events), the following observations can be made. Note, the data reflects the number of overdose/poisoning calls paramedics have responded to in each health authority and province-wide.

In 2024, BCEHS experienced 10 months with more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls for the year.
In 2023, BCEHS experienced 11 months with more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls for the year.
In 2022, BCEHS experienced two months with more than 3,000 overdose/poisoning calls for the year, including the first single-day total over 200 on Jan. 19, 2022 (203 calls).
As of Dec. 31, 2024, in total, there have been 12 days when BCEHS experienced 170 or more calls for Card 23 events – 19 were in 2023.

Historic highest call volume days

On June 21, 2023, BCEHS recorded 221 calls for overdose/poisonings, the highest call volume day so far and the fifth over 200 to date.

Total Card 23 (overdose/poisoning) calls

June 21, 2023: 221
June 23, 2023 210
June 22, 2023: 209
March 22, 2023: 205
Jan. 19, 2022: 203

Historic average calls/day by month since 2020

In the latter 3 months of 2024, the average calls per day fell below 100. This was the first time calls for Card 23 events had fallen below 100 since January 2023. However, a new daily call average high was set in June at 129.1 calls/day.
Since January 2020, there has been a steady increase in year over year averages of daily calls by month:

In January 2020, BCEHS averaged 59.3 Card 23 calls per day. By contrast, those totals were much higher in the subsequent four January averages:

January 2021 (76.2)
January 2022 (98.2)
January 2023 (97.9)
January 2024 (108.7)

2024 - Average calls/day by month

January: 108.7
February: 111.8
March: 112.5
April: 112
May: 116.5
June: 129.1
July: 126
August: 122.8
September: 111.4
October: 96.8
November: 92.1
December: 89.5

2023 - Average calls/day by month

January: 97.9
February: 103.8
March: 118.4
April: 120.0
May: 115.9
June: 127.9
July: 127.2
August: 121.8
September: 120.3
October: 106.7
November: 112.6
December: 113.5

2022 - Average calls/day by month

January: 98.2
February: 97.3
March: 96.2
April: 99.6
May: 98.2
June: 94.3
July: 90.4
August: 89.6
September: 88.3
October: 84.7
November: 85.3
December: 84.8

2021 - Average calls/day by month

January: 76.2
February: 81.9
March: 81.8
April: 91.9
May: 96.0
June: 100.6
July: 116.3
August: 112.6
September: 106.9
October: 105.0
November: 103.5
December: 95.8

2020 - Average calls/day by month

January: 59.3
February: 59.2
March: 63.1
April: 71.9
May: 74.9
June: 79.0
July: 87.3
August: 76.5
September: 81.0
October: 83.3
November: 76.7
December: 74.9

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