Emergency department visits

Figure: Emergency department visits for confirmed opioid drug poisonings, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018–2025

A graph showing the number of emergency department visits for opioid drug poisonings each month from January 2018 until January 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 sharply from 10 visits in the summer of 2018 to 40 visits in the summer of 2019, before decreasing. It then increased again from 20 visits per month in November 2019 to a peak of 65 visits per month in January 2021. It then began a gradual downward trend that has continued, with monthly fluctuations, until November 2024. There is a very steep decline to 3 visits in December 2024.

Table: Emergency department visits for confirmed opioid drug poisonings, by month, Sudbury and Manitoulin districts, 2018–2025

Month20182019202020212022202320242025
January718276236233221
February19244342422938-
March 14293867333447-
April 16262744373344-
May14574052513746-
June 12333156452937-
July10264445353425-
August 18243655274144-
September 21186252395237-
October 14215741373135-
November 13245053372625-
December 2033866753423-
TOTAL17933354163647241141321

Note:

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NARCS). Obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Health on February 10, 2025.

Figure: Annual rates of emergency department visits for confirmed opioid drug poisonings per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025

A graph comparing the annual rate of emergency department visits for opioid drug poisonings in the Sudbury and Manitoulin 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 2025. The rates for individual years are provided in a table, below. Rates in both the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and northern Ontario are much higher than the rate for Ontario for all years shown, with the local rate being significantly higher than the rate in the North from 2019 to 2022. Rates in all geographic areas increased significantly from 2018 to 2021. However, the increases in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and northern Ontario were much steeper than in Ontario overall. Rates in all areas have declined since 2021. But whereas rates in Ontario have almost returned to what they were in 2018, the rates in both the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and Northern Ontario remain significantly higher than they used to be. Rates in all regions declined significantly in January 2025.

Table: Annual rate of emergency department visits for opioid drug poisonings per 100,000 population, by geographic region, 2018–2025

YearSudbury and Manitoulin districtsNorthern OntarioOntario
201887.893.564.5
2019162.7122.872.5
2020263.7194.281.7
2021309.0245.6115.9
2022226.2183.180.9
2023191.7174.786.9
2024188.6187.176.4
2025 (January)113.685.627.3

Note:

Sources: (1) Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NARCS). Obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Health on February 10, 2025.
(2) Ontario Ministry of Health, Population Estimates and Projections 2018–2025, IntelliHEALTH Ontario, accessed March 15, 2024


This item was last modified on February 21, 2025