What: There was a total of 32,632 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and June 20221,2
• A total of 3,556 apparent opioid toxicity deaths occurred so far in 2022 (January – June). This is approximately 20 deaths per day. For a similar timeframe in the years prior to the pandemic, there were between 8 (in 2016) and 12 (in 2018) deaths per day.
• The number of apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada reported in the second quarter of
2022 (April – June) is lower than those reported for other quarters from April 2020 – March 2022. This may reflect recent gaps in reporting; additional data are needed to determine whether this will be sustained.
