SURREY, B.C. - At least 133 people died of toxic drugs in British Columbia in September 2026, bringing the province’s death toll for the year to 1,143, according to preliminary figures released November 10 by the BC Coroners Service.
The September figure works out to roughly four deaths a day. The Coroners Service cautions that the numbers are preliminary and can change as investigations are completed.
Who is dying
People aged 30 to 59 account for 70 per cent of the 2026 deaths, and 76 per cent of those who died were male. Most deaths happened indoors: 78 per cent occurred inside, including in private homes, while 20 per cent occurred outside.
By health region, the largest share of the year’s deaths is in Fraser Health, with 311 deaths, followed by Vancouver Coastal Health with 298 – together 53 per cent of the provincial total. Surrey is the largest city in the Fraser Health region. The highest death rate, however, is in Northern Health, at 43.4 deaths per 100,000 people. The bulletin does not publish a Surrey-only count.
What is in the supply
Expedited testing of samples found fluorofentanyl in 68 per cent of cases, cocaine in 55 per cent, methamphetamine in 53 per cent and fentanyl in 50 per cent. Smoking was the most common way the drugs were consumed, at 67 per cent.
The BC Coroners Service is the provincial agency responsible for investigating sudden and unexpected deaths. Its toxic drug data comes from its own investigations and is the official count used by the province to track the toxic drug emergency, which has killed more than 18,000 British Columbians since a public health emergency was declared in 2016.
Naloxone kits, which can reverse an opioid overdose, are available free at pharmacies and harm reduction sites across Surrey and B.C. – a step health officials urge anyone who uses drugs, or who is around people who do, to take.
(Source: BC Coroners Service, November 10, 2026)
By Apna News
