Drowning prevention week a stark reminder following recent water deaths

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That compares to 26 deaths during the same time period last year.

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He said while a safety course is required to legally operate a motorized boat in Canada, there are no laws requiring all passengers to wear lifejackets, only to have as many lifejackets on board as there are people.

He said there is currently ongoing work to possibly implement a regulation to make wearing lifejackets mandatory while boating, with more information on it expected later this year.

While there is usually more room on the ocean or in a lake compared to a highway, Hanlon said to apply the same safety rules when driving a boat as one would with a vehicle, and stay completely sober behind the wheel.

“It’s a heavy piece of equipment, and if you’re operating impaired, you’re going to be more reckless and more likely to find yourself in trouble.”

Knowing the body of water you plan to be on, and letting others know of your location and plans are easy way to keep yourself safe.

Hanlon said 13 people have died in recreational boating fatalities in Canada from January to the end of May this year.

In 2025, there were 93 accidental drowning deaths in B.C., with the summer months (June-Aug.) accounting for 39 per cent, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

Between 2015 and 2024, impairment by alcohol and/or drugs was a contributing factor in about 40 per cent of accidental drowning deaths in B.C., and was involved in approximately half of accidental drownings in people aged 19-69.

Locally, May 20, was a tragic day in the Nanaimo area, with a pair of unrelated swimming drownings in the Departure Bay area, as well as a scuba diver dying off Gabriola Island.

The following day, three men on a clam-harvesting boat drowned off Savary Island, northwest of Powell River.

The bodies of two paddleboarders were recovered from a lake near Squamish on Tuesday, June 2.

Seven people died, including six who are presumed drowned, after a charter boat sank off Richmond on June 28.

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