BURSTMore than 1,000 people in B.C. have died from toxic unregulated in the first eight months of 2026.
The B.C. Coroners Service released the latest data for July and August fatal overdoses on Wednesday (Oct. 14).
There were 113 deaths reported in July and 126 in August, an average of 3.6 and 4.1 deaths per day, respectively.
In total, there have been 1,015 unregulated drug deaths in B.C. between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31. July had the second-fewest deaths in a month so far this year.
In July and August, Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities each recorded 86 deaths. The two health authorities have accounted for 54 per cent of all fatal overdoses in B.C. so far in 2026.
Of the 239 deaths in July and August, 188 of those deaths were male. The coroners service says males, so far in 2026, account for 76 per cent of unregulated drug deaths reported to the service.
People between the ages of 30 and 59 have accounted for 69 per cent of deaths in the first eight months of 2026.
The B.C. Coroners Service says that fluorofentanyl has become the most-common substance detected in expedited toxicological testing. It has been detected in 68 per cent of overdose deaths.
Cocaine has been detected in 56 per cent of deaths, followed by methamphetamine in 53 per cent, fentanyl in 50 per cent and desalkylgidazepam in 21 per cent.
Smoking was the most-common mode of consumption in July and August, at 65 per cent and 67 per cent, respectively.
Fifty-one per cent of deaths have happened in private residences so far in 2026, compared to 19 per cent outdoors.