The unregulated toxic drug supply claimed the lives of nine more people in Nanaimo in February, part of 115 people who died across B.C. (Image Credit: Dreamstime)

By Jordan Davidson

unregulated supply

Toxic street drugs claim nine more lives in Nanaimo

Apr 16, 2026 | 12:16 PM

NANAIMO — Unregulated and toxic street drugs claimed seven lives in Nanaimo in February.

The latest BC Coroners Service report (BCCS) showed 115 British Columbians died in February province-wide, down from 150 in January.

The service said that equates to about 4.1 deaths per day and that 78 per cent of the people who died in February were men, with 81 per cent of those deaths occurring inside, including 53 per cent in private homes.

Nine people in Nanaimo died in January, with 60 deaths due to toxic drugs recorded across Vancouver Island so far this year, according to the BCCS.

They said stimulants were the most common substance detected in those who died at 83 per cent, followed by fentanyl or its analogs at 80 per cent.

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The central Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery Area had some of the highest rates of death in the province, with 34 so far this year, along with the Northern Interior (17), Kootenay Boundary (10), Vancouver, and the Northeast (4).

Numbers released by the health authority show 289 First Nations members died of overdoses in 2025 compared with 433 the year before.

First Nations members in B.C. make up approximately 3.4 per cent of the population, but accounted for 15.8 per cent of all toxic drug deaths in 2025.

The downward trend of toxic drug deaths in the province continues from the highest levels in 2023, where 197 people died that February.

In Nanaimo, 115 people died in 2023, 94 in 2024, and 70 last year.

April 14 marked the tenth anniversary of the province declaring toxic drugs a public health emergency, with more than 18,000 people dying since then.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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by Jordan Davidson

Toxic street drugs claim nine more lives in Nanaimo

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