Nine unregulated drug deaths reported in the Tri-Cities so far this year

The Tri-Cities recorded nine unregulated drug deaths in the first six months of 2026, down from 30 deaths during the same period in 2025, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

The death rate was 6.5 per 100,000 residents in the first half of 2026, the area’s lowest rate of unregulated drug deaths in more than a decade. The rate was 10.6 per 100,000 residents in 2025 and was nearly four times higher at this point in 2021, at 25.2 per 100,000 residents.

Emergency responders have reported a similar decline. Coquitlam Fire Rescue and Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services each reported about a 40 per cent drop in overdose calls in 2025 compared with 2024. Speaking to Port Coquitlam council in 2025, Deputy Chief Blake Clarkson said the department could not explain the sudden decline, but called the lower call volume a positive sign.

Other nearby cities also recorded fewer deaths in the first half of 2026. Burnaby reported 14 unregulated drug deaths, New Westminster seven and Surrey 61, compared with 35, 34 and 175 deaths respectively at the same point in 2025.

Across British Columbia, 776 people have died from unregulated drugs so far in 2026, including five people aged 18 or younger, 25 people in their 70s and 202 people in their 40s. The province had recorded 1,828 unregulated drug deaths by the same point in 2025.

Fentanyl appears to have been found in a smaller share of deaths, declining from 87 per cent in 2021 to 74 per cent so far this year. Fluorofentanyl was found in 67 per cent of deaths in 2026. Cocaine, fentanyl or methamphetamine were found in more than half of all deaths, while smoking was the most common method of consumption, identified in 68 per cent of deaths.