The Addiction Crisis in Granby

Granby, Quebec is located in the Montérégie region and sits near the Estrie border. There is no publicly available city-level overdose data specific to Granby; however, the city gained national attention in early 2018 when it recorded Quebec's first confirmed carfentanil death — Austin Rutledge, 25 — prompting Eastern Townships public health to mandate reporting of all drug overdose cases across the region. The Estrie region recorded 1,954 opioid-related emergency consultations in 2024, with new nitazene-family synthetic opioids (at least 40 times more potent than fentanyl) appearing in the local drug supply. Granby falls under the CIUSSS de la Montérégie-Est for health services.

Canada recorded approximately 7,150 apparent opioid-related deaths in 2024 — a 17% decline from 2023's ~7,560, driven largely by reductions in British Columbia and Alberta. Quebec is an outlier: deaths rose 20% year-over-year in 2024, making it one of only three jurisdictions where the crisis is worsening. Quebec's delayed fentanyl wave, limited supervised consumption infrastructure outside Montreal, and emerging nitazene contamination mean the province faces a distinct and escalating public health emergency even as the national headline number improves.

01. What is happening in Granby

Note: City-specific data for Granby is limited. Figures reflect Quebec-wide trends.

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Quebec recorded 645 confirmed or suspected drug overdose deaths in 2024 — the highest annual total ever recorded in the province, up from 536 in 2023 and more than double the 2022 figure. This rise occurred against a national trend: apparent opioid-related deaths fell 17% across Canada in 2024, but Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories bucked that trend. The death rate attributed to suspected opioid overdoses rose from 5.1 per 100,000 in 2018 to 7.3 per 100,000 in 2024. Fentanyl or its analogues were detected in nearly two-thirds of opioid deaths. Non-prescribed stimulants — particularly methamphetamine and cocaine — have compounded the crisis. Since 2018, Quebec has averaged 38 opioid and drug toxicity deaths per month.

03. Why is it getting worse?

1. Contaminated drug supply: Fentanyl and analogues present in nearly two-thirds of Quebec opioid deaths. Nitazene-family synthetic opioids (40x more potent than fentanyl) are newly appearing in the Estrie/Eastern Townships supply near Granby. 2. Polysubstance use: Sharp post-COVID rise in methamphetamine and cocaine use alongside opioids. 3. Geographic isolation: Rural and semi-rural communities like Granby have limited harm reduction infrastructure compared to Montreal. 4. Delayed fentanyl wave: Quebec is experiencing the fentanyl-driven surge years after Western Canada, partly explaining the province's rising deaths while national numbers fall. 5. Social determinants: Poverty, housing instability, and lack of culturally safe care.

04. Where hope still lives

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

05. In the news

• All drug overdoses in Eastern Townships to be reported after region's first carfentanil death (Granby)CBC News · 2018-01-25
• Quebec on pace to record back-to-back years with 600 drug overdose deathsCBC News · 2025
• Opioid deaths fall nationwide, rise in Quebec and Newfoundland and LabradorThe Globe and Mail · 2025
• Overdose Epidemic in Quebec: Population-Level Approaches and Clinical ImplicationsMDPI Drugs and Drug Abuse journal · 2024