The Addiction Crisis in Kingston

Kingston, Ontario (part of the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington — KFL&A — public health region) has experienced a sustained and serious opioid overdose crisis. Deaths climbed from 12 or fewer per year before 2016 to 42 in 2020, with 135 people dying from opioid overdose in the KFL&A region between May 2017 and June 2021. KFL&A Public Health issued alerts in both late 2024 and mid-2025 about alarming spikes in drug poisonings, with fluorofentanyl detected in the local drug supply. Kingston's supervised consumption site (Consumption and Treatment Services, CTS) has reversed more than 2,000 overdoses since opening in 2020 — but it is slated to close September 30, 2026, converting to a HART Hub that will no longer offer supervised consumption or needle exchange. A Kingston Police initiative in summer 2025 prioritized treatment referrals over arrests, offering 104 people access to addiction and mental health services rather than criminal charges.

Canada recorded approximately 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2023 (PHAC), declining to an estimated 5,630 in 2025 — a 23 percent drop that Canada's Chief Public Health Officer described as bringing "cautious optimism." Despite this improvement, opioid deaths remain far above pre-pandemic levels nationally. British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario together account for 78 percent of all Canadian opioid deaths. Fentanyl and its analogues are involved in the majority of deaths across the country, and the contaminated illicit drug supply — not prescription opioids — drives the overwhelming majority of fatalities.

01. What is happening in Kingston

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Ontario recorded 2,639 opioid-related deaths in 2023 and 2,231 in 2024 — a 15 percent decrease, though still far above pre-pandemic levels. The 2024 mortality rate was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Fentanyl or its analogues were present in more than 83 percent of opioid toxicity deaths; prescription benzodiazepines appeared in 45 percent of deaths in 2024, up sharply from 33 percent the year before. Men account for approximately 75 percent of deaths, and one in five opioid deaths in Ontario occurs among people experiencing homelessness. Ontario's closure of provincially funded supervised consumption sites — including the Kingston CTS — has drawn criticism from harm reduction advocates, including Amnesty International Canada, who warn closures will cost lives.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Key drivers of the crisis in Kingston and the KFL&A region include: (1) the contaminated illicit drug supply, particularly fentanyl and emerging analogues such as fluorofentanyl identified in local samples; (2) high rates of drug use in isolation — a common characteristic among those who died; (3) limited access to opioid substitution therapy and the recent closure of the supervised consumption site; (4) co-occurring mental health diagnoses and chronic pain; (5) a significant population experiencing homelessness and housing instability; (6) histories of incarceration among many who died; and (7) the provincial policy to close supervised consumption sites and transition to HART Hubs, which do not offer supervised consumption or needle exchange, removing a critical safety net at a time when the drug supply remains dangerous.

04. Where hope still lives

Communities across Ontario 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:

• Kingston's Consumption and Treatment Services to close, HART Hub to open this fallKingstonist · 2025
• Ontario's last provincially funded supervised drug site in Kingston to become HART HubCBC News · 2025
• Kingston Police offer help instead of handcuffs to tackle open drug useCBC News · 2025
• Kingston public health authority issues alert after rise in drug overdosesCTV News Ottawa · 2024
• More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downwardCBC News · 2025
• Opioid deaths dropped 23% in 2025 — bringing cautious optimism from Canada's top doctorCBC News · 2026