Sault had highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario in first three months of 2024

Sault Ste. Marie jumped to the top of the province's list for the rate opioid-related deaths reported in the first three months of 2024, according to new data released Tuesday by the Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC).

The data shows there was 13 opioid toxicity deaths reported in Sault Ste. Marie between January and March of 2024. In the same three months last year, a total of eight deaths were recorded. 

With a death rate of 69.6 per 100,000, Sault Ste. Marie recorded the highest opioid toxicity mortality rate in the province for that quarter.

Two opioid toxicity deaths were recorded in Elliot Lake and one in Blind River during the first quarter of 2024.

Public Health Units in northern Ontario regions continue to experience the highest rates of opioid-related mortality, led by Porcupine Health Unit and Algoma Public Health in second.

When looking at Algoma in its entirety, including the Sault Ste. Marie data, the opioid toxicity mortality rate is just over 14 deaths per 100,000 people for the months of January to March, which is up sharply from the previous quarter at just under eight deaths per 100,000. The Ontario average is about four deaths per 100,000.

An average of seven people die in the province every day from opioid toxicity, a number that has been steady in 2022, 2023 and so far in 2024. 

The OCC said in the report that fentanyl continues to contribute to the majority of opioid toxicity deaths in the province, being present in over 80 per cent of confirmed deaths.