The Addiction Crisis in Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba has been hit hard by the toxic drug supply crisis. In 2024, Brandon police reported 50 overdoses, seven of which were fatal. A Brandon harm reduction worker described the pace as roughly one overdose death per week — up sharply from about one per month in prior years. Brandon Police Chief Tyler Bates publicly warned in late 2024 that an extremely toxic drug supply was putting lives at risk, and substance-use-related calls to police doubled in 2025. The number of intoxicated individuals brought into police custody surged from 255 (July–November 2024) to 529 during the same period in 2025. A proposed sobering centre for Brandon has stalled due to a funding shortfall, leaving a significant service gap. Residents in Brandon are hospitalized for opioid poisoning at roughly twice the rate of Winnipeg residents, underscoring the acute impact on this mid-sized city.

Canada recorded approximately 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2023 (PHAC), making it one of the worst years on record nationally. Manitoba's 382 deaths in 2023 represented roughly 5% of the national toll despite being home to about 4% of Canada's population. The contaminated drug supply — fentanyl and its analogues, combined with illicitly manufactured benzodiazepines — has driven overdose risk across the country, with smaller cities like Brandon increasingly affected alongside major urban centres.

01. What is happening in Brandon

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Manitoba recorded 382 suspected substance-related deaths in 2023 and 371 in 2024 (a 2.9% decrease). January 2024 alone saw 56 deaths — a single-month record — driven in part by desalkylgidazepam (DAG), a benzodiazepine-class designer drug resistant to naloxone. From January to November 2025, the province recorded 354 suspected substance-related deaths, down from 530 during the same period in 2024, the lowest pace since at least 2022. The province distributed over 63,000 naloxone kits in the 2025–26 fiscal year. Despite the provincial decline, Brandon continues to face disproportionately high hospitalization rates and service gaps in harm reduction infrastructure.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Key drivers of the crisis in Brandon and Manitoba include: (1) A highly toxic illicit drug supply contaminated with fentanyl, carfentanil, and designer benzodiazepines such as desalkylgidazepam (DAG) that are naloxone-resistant. (2) Rural and mid-sized city service gaps — Brandon's hospitalization rate for opioid poisoning is roughly double Winnipeg's, while infrastructure like a sobering centre remains unfunded. (3) Methamphetamine and stimulant co-use alongside opioids, complicating treatment and overdose response. (4) Housing instability and homelessness intersecting with substance use. (5) Limited culturally safe and low-barrier addiction services in southwestern Manitoba outside of Winnipeg.

04. Where hope still lives

Communities across Manitoba are responding with naloxone distribution, harm reduction programs, and peer support networks. Every person trained in naloxone use is a potential life saved.

05. In the news

The reporting behind this page:

• Extremely toxic drug supply putting lives at risk, Brandon police chief saysCBC News · 2024
• 'Expecting the worst' as number of overdoses climbs: Brandon harm reduction workerCBC News · 2024
• Manitoba set new record for drug-related deaths in a single month to start 2024CBC News · 2024
• Lack of funding stalls plans for long-delayed sobering centre in southwestern ManitobaCBC News · 2025
• Manitoba 'cautiously optimistic' about sustained drop in suspected substance-related deaths in 2025CBC News · 2025
• Mobile outreach van in Brandon will help bring harm reduction services to people in need: advocatesCBC News · 2025