Manitoba sees decline in suspected drug-overdose deaths

The number of suspected drug-related deaths in Manitoba in the first half of 2025 was the lowest mid-year total since 2021, bringing cautious optimism while the province continues to grapple with a crisis.

Manitoba recorded 203 suspected overdose deaths between Jan. 1 and June 30, down from 307 during the same period in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

“It’s still high. I was told when we see a decrease like that, it’s a moment in time and it’s not a trend yet,” said Joseph Fourre, an activist whose 31-year-old son, Harlan, died after taking a drug laced with fentanyl, an extremely potent opioid, in 2023.

“I’m glad to see a slight decrease in the numbers. We’ve still got a long way to go before we’ve got this under control.”

The preliminary mid-year total of 203 was the lowest since 183 suspected deaths were reported between January and June of 2021.

“Manitoba is aligning with the trend observed across most Canadian provinces and U.S. jurisdictions over the past year, showing a decline in the number of drug-related deaths,” Stephanie Holfeld, executive director of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“The underlying causes remain poorly understood. Although the recent reduction in fatalities is an encouraging short-term development, the ongoing risk of new, highly toxic substances entering the drug supply continues to pose a significant threat and could lead to another rise in mortality.”

The recent decrease follows at least five consecutive year-over-year increases. Manitoba reported a record 570 suspected drug-related deaths for all of 2024.

Fourre said there could be a number of factors for the decrease, including drug prevention and awareness efforts. He advocated for more treatment spaces.

“We need to keep doing what we’re doing. Who knows what the last six months will bring,” he said. “We need to forge ahead even stronger.”

Holfeld said stimulant use is the most common cause of drug-related deaths in Manitoba. Methamphetamine and cocaine are among the most commonly detected drugs in toxicology samples.

Others include fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, prescription opioids and benzodiazepines.

Fentanyl analogues are highly potent synthetic opioids that are structurally similar to fentanyl and have similar effects. The most common fentanyl analogues in Manitoba are para-fluorofentanyl, carfentanil, and ortho-methylfentanyl, Holfeld said.

She said medetomidine, a veterinary tranquilizer, was recently identified in a few toxicology samples.

The Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use last year said medetomidine, which has strong sedative effects, is being found in drug samples expected to be opioids, often in combination with fentanyl, its analogues and other tranquilizers.

“These combined sedatives can enhance sedation and decrease blood pressure, breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels,” the organization said.

Manitoba’s latest substance-related harms surveillance report said the province had a higher proportion of opioid-related deaths among females (42 per cent) compared with the Canadian average (27 per cent) in the first quarter of 2025.

It said 78 per cent of opioid-related deaths involved stimulants, higher than the national average of 62 per cent.

The report showed a slight decrease in substance-related hospital admissions in Manitoba in the first quarter of 2025 (1,198) compared with the same period in 2024 (1,208).

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to 1,904 suspected opioid overdoses (where naloxone was administered) between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, down from 1,950 during the same period in 2024.

Downtown Winnipeg and Point Douglas were the neighbourhoods with the highest use of naloxone by WFPS members between July and September.

Naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects of opioids. More than 45,600 take-home naloxone kits have been handed out in Manitoba, primarily in Winnipeg, this year, the surveillance report said.

In an inquest report last week, provincial court judge Tracey Lord advised the province to increase help for people with addictions after the accidental fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose death of Lee Earnshaw, 42, who was found unresponsive at a homeless encampment in June 2021. He died after seeking help several times.

Lord’s eight recommendations include increasing the number of Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinics.

Premier Wab Kinew last week said the province has added more RAAM Clinics, with another planned downtown at the former Portage Place mall.

Ben Leahy, the press secretary to Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, said the government has created 800 new treatment spots in the past year, with 400 more on the way.

The NDP government has proposed legislation to allow the 72-hour detention of people who are in the throes of a methamphetamine psychosis. It wants to open a detox centre at 190 Disraeli Fwy.

The province is also planning to open a supervised drug consumption site. It has not revealed its new preferred location, after a proposal for 200 Disraeli Fwy. was shelved amid concerns from Point Douglas residents.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca