The Addiction Crisis in Dollard-des-Ormeaux

Dollard-des-Ormeaux (DDO) is a municipality on Montreal's West Island, served by the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal health authority. No city-specific overdose or opioid death data was found for DDO in publicly available sources. The community is not isolated from Quebec's broader crisis: the West Island region shares the same toxic drug supply and risk factors driving record-high provincial deaths. Residents can access addiction and naloxone services through the CIUSSS Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal network.

Canada recorded approximately 7,150 apparent opioid-related deaths in 2024 — a 17% decline from the 2023 figure of roughly 7,560 (PHAC). This national improvement masks significant regional divergence: Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories all saw increases while most provinces declined. Fentanyl contamination of the illicit drug supply remains the primary driver of fatal overdoses nationally, present in approximately 79% of accidental opioid deaths in the first half of 2024.

01. What is happening in Dollard-des-Ormeaux

Note: City-specific data for Dollard-des-Ormeaux is limited. Figures reflect Quebec-wide trends.

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Quebec is bucking the national trend in the most alarming way. While apparent opioid-related deaths fell 17% across Canada in 2024, Quebec recorded 645 confirmed or suspected drug overdose deaths in 2024 — its highest annual total ever, up from 536 in 2023 and representing a 33% increase year-over-year. Fentanyl or its analogues were detected in nearly two-thirds of opioid deaths. Emergency department visits for suspected opioid intoxication rose 38% in the first nine months of 2024 versus the same period in 2023. The province's public health institute (INSPQ) had warned as early as 2023 that Quebec was "not immune to a tragic reversal," and that reversal has now arrived. The mortality rate reached 7.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Quebec's rising overdose death toll is driven primarily by fentanyl and its analogues contaminating the illicit drug supply — present in nearly two-thirds of opioid deaths in 2024. Unlike British Columbia and Alberta, Quebec was slower to expand supervised consumption sites and has fewer harm reduction infrastructure points per capita. The province has also seen growing polysubstance use (opioids combined with stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine), which complicates overdose response. Structural factors include social isolation, housing instability, stigma that delays help-seeking, and gaps in culturally safe services for immigrant and minority communities. INSPQ has specifically warned that Quebec is not following the national improvement trend and faces continued escalation without expanded prevention and harm reduction measures.

04. Where hope still lives

Communities across Quebec are responding with naloxone distribution, harm reduction programs, and peer support networks.

05. In the news

• Drug overdose deaths in Canada are dropping. So why is Quebec nearing a record high?CBC News · 2024
• Quebec on pace to record back-to-back years with 600 drug overdose deathsCBC News · 2025
• Opioid deaths fall nationwide, rise in Quebec and N.L.The Globe and Mail · 2025
• How to fight Quebec's toxic drug problem? A former user says change the conversationCBC News · 2025
• There were 7,150 apparent opioid-related deaths in 2024APTN News · 2025
• Vers un record de décès par surdoses au Québec en 2024Radio-Canada · 2024