The Northern Interior, which includes Quesnel, continues to be one of the worst areas of the province when it comes to drug overdoses.
The BC Coroners Service says the death rate through September of this year was 51 people per 100,000, 2nd out of the 14 health service delivery areas.
Only Vancouver, at 53.8, is worse.
The Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap health service delivery area, which includes Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, is 8th at 40 deaths per 100,000 people.
Province-wide, 158 people lost their lives due to unregulated drug deaths in September, which equates to more than 5 deaths per day.
That total is 1,384 in B.C. in the first 9 months of 2025.
The total for all of last year was 2,315.
A new occupation industry page has been added to the data pack by the Coroners Service.
The two most common industries of current and past employment were trades, transport and equipment operations as well as sales and service.
Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death for people in British Columbia between the ages of 10 and 59, and accounts for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents, and natural disease combined.
The Coroner’s Service is also noting an uptick on youth overdose deaths with 20 taking place between January and September – just 17 were reported during the same period in 2024.
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