The Addiction Crisis in Ottawa

Ottawa experienced a dramatic rise in opioid-related deaths and emergency department visits from 2019 through 2023, when the crisis peaked. The city recorded 207 confirmed opioid toxicity deaths in 2023, up from 65 in 2019 — a threefold increase over four years. The ByWard Market area saw a 500% increase in overdose calls between 2018 and August 2024. Since late 2024 and into 2025, Ottawa has seen a notable and unexpected decline: suspected fatal overdoses dropped 57% in May 2025 compared to May 2024, and opioid-related emergency department visits fell 75% in April and May 2025 compared to the same months the prior year. Public health officials and researchers acknowledge they do not fully understand why the decline is occurring. A major ongoing concern is the provincial government's decision to end funding for supervised consumption sites in Ontario, including those in Ottawa, replacing them with an abstinence-based HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) model — a move harm reduction advocates warn will push drug use into public spaces and increase overdose deaths.

Canada recorded approximately 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2023, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) — equivalent to more than 20 deaths every day. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are implicated in the vast majority of deaths nationally. The crisis has disproportionately affected western provinces (British Columbia, Alberta), but Ontario carries the largest absolute death toll due to its population size. National trends show a slight plateau or modest decline in 2024, mirroring Ontario and Ottawa patterns, though deaths remain far above pre-pandemic baselines. The federal government has invested in harm reduction, naloxone distribution, and safe supply programs, though provincial policy divergence — particularly Ontario's shift away from supervised consumption — creates uneven responses across the country.

01. What is happening in Ottawa

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Ontario recorded 2,639 opioid toxicity deaths in 2023, and more than 2,200 in 2024 — a decline of approximately 15% year over year, though deaths remain far above pre-pandemic levels. The opioid mortality rate was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024, down from a peak of 19.4 per 100,000 in 2021. Fentanyl and related synthetic opioids were detected in more than 83% of opioid toxicity deaths in 2024. Prescription benzodiazepines were found in 45% of deaths in 2024, up sharply from 33% in 2023, signalling a more complex and harder-to-reverse toxic drug supply. Men account for approximately 75% of opioid deaths, and one in five deaths occurs in the homeless population. Ontario's decision to eliminate supervised consumption sites province-wide in favour of HART hubs represents a major policy shift with uncertain public health consequences.

03. Why is it getting worse?

The Ottawa and Ontario opioid crisis is driven by several intersecting factors: (1) The contaminated illicit drug supply dominated by fentanyl and its analogues, found in over 83% of Ontario opioid deaths in 2024, which is far more potent and unpredictable than heroin or prescription opioids. (2) A sharp rise in toxic drug combinations — prescription benzodiazepines (benzos) were found in 45% of 2024 Ontario deaths, up from 33% in 2023, creating overdoses that are harder to reverse with naloxone alone. (3) Social determinants: poverty, homelessness, and marginalization — one in five Ontario opioid deaths occurs in the homeless population. (4) Geographic concentration in Ottawa's downtown core, particularly the ByWard Market and Lowertown neighbourhoods, where overdose calls surged 500% between 2018 and August 2024. (5) Policy shift: Ontario's elimination of supervised consumption sites and replacement with HART hubs disrupts a harm reduction infrastructure that had been preventing deaths. (6) Pandemic-era isolation and mental health deterioration accelerated substance use from 2020 onward, pushing deaths to historic highs by 2023.

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:

• Drug overdoses are declining in Ottawa, and no one really knows whyCBC News · 2025
• More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downwardCBC News · 2024-2025
• Public drug use will spike when consumption sites close, advocates warnCBC News · 2025
• Here is how federal money will be used to help Ottawa deal with toxic drugsCTV News Ottawa · 2025
• Solution to substance abuse in Ottawa will come from collaboration, say area politiciansThe Hill Times · 2025-12-21
• Ottawa health board warned of 'challenging summer' ahead with downtown drug consumption sites set to closeYahoo News Canada / Ottawa · 2025