Preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service show that 302 people died from unregulated drugs in July and August 2025, a decrease of nearly 26 per cent.

Despite the grim figures, this downward trend appears to extend to Greater Victoria. In 2024, the Capital Region recorded 165 deaths, averaging about 13.8 per month. In the first eight months of 2025, 80 deaths were reported, averaging roughly 10 per month – a near 28 per cent drop. The latest figures show 13 deaths in Greater Victoria in August and 11 in July, compared with 14 and 15 in the same respective months last year.

So far this year, people aged 30 to 59 accounted for 69 per cent of suspected drug-toxicity deaths in the province, and men made up 78 per cent of the casualties.

Greater Victoria ranks third among cities with the

See Full Page