Suspected drug toxicity deaths

Figure: Suspected drug toxicity deaths, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018-2025

A graph showing the number of suspected drug toxicity deaths in Sudbury and districts each month from January 2018 until February 2025, with the rolling 3-month average monthly count shown as a line. The counts for individual months are provided in a table, below. The 3-month average trendline increased from 4 to 6 deaths per month in 2018 to 15 deaths per month in early 2021. The trendline has fluctuated widely every 4 to 6 months since then, ranging from highs of between 14 to 16 deaths per month (seen in the winters of 2021, 2022 and 2023, autumn of 2023 and spring of 2024) to lows of between 5 to 8 deaths per month.

Table: Suspected drug toxicity deaths, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018-2025

Month 20182019202020212022202320242025
January 1491414151011
February391317206613
March75101112158-
April61287121218-
May 63111414919-
June 59106267-
July 26879712-
August 10411123812-
September 43141191515-
October 25131314138-
November 51213715209-
December 47151219910-
TOTAL557913513114313513424

Note:

Source: Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Monthly Update: Suspect drug-related and drug toxicity deaths in Ontario, January 2018— 2024 [Unpublished datafile], received March 14, 2025.

Figure: Annual rates of suspected drug toxicity deaths per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025

A graph comparing the annual rate of suspected drug toxicity deaths in Sudbury and districts, Northern Ontario and Ontario, for each year from 2018 to 2025. The rate for the most recent year is based on data from January to February 2025. The rates for individual years are provided in a table, below. Rates in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and Northern Ontario are similar, and much higher than the rate in Ontario overall in all years. Rates in all areas increased from 2018 to 2020, though the increase in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and Northern Ontario were much greater than in Ontario overall. The rates have remained relatively stable in all geographic areas in all years since 2020.

Table: Annual rates of suspected drug toxicity deaths per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025

YearSudbury and Manitoulin districtsNorthern OntarioOntario
201826.828.415.5
201938.132.516.3
202064.758.024.2
202162.367.927.4
202266.959.724.5
202361.762.224.8
202459.358.822.2
2025 (January to February)62.954.215.2

Note:

Sources: (1) Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Monthly Update: Suspect drug-related and drug toxicity deaths in Ontario, January 2018— 2024 [Unpublished datafile], received March 14, 2025, (2) Ontario Ministry of Health, Population Estimates and Projections 2021–2025, IntelliHEALTH Ontario, accessed March 20, 2025.


This item was last modified on March 26, 2025