The Addiction Crisis in Pickering

Pickering is a city of approximately 100,000 people in Durham Region, Ontario. No Pickering-specific opioid death data is published at the municipal level; the regional authority is Durham Region Public Health. Durham Region recorded 97 opioid-related deaths in 2024 — a more than three-fold increase from 29 deaths in 2015 — and 544 emergency department visits due to opioid overdose in 2024, up from 231 in 2015. Paramedic services responded to 127 suspected opioid overdose calls in just the first six weeks of 2024, a sharp increase over the same period the prior year. Oshawa is the epicentre of the crisis within Durham Region, accounting for close to three-quarters of regional numbers, but all municipalities including Pickering are affected. Fentanyl and carfentanyl have driven the crisis; a major 42-kilogram carfentanyl seizure was made at a Pickering residence in 2017, one of the largest in Canadian history.

Canada recorded approximately 7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2023 (PHAC), falling to an estimated 6,083 in 2024 — a 17% decline representing the first sustained national decrease since the pandemic surge. Despite this improvement, opioids remain a leading cause of accidental death in Canada. Progress is uneven: Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories saw increases in 2024. Ontario bucked this trend with a 15% reduction. Nationally, fentanyl and its analogues remain the primary driver of deaths. The decline is attributed to a modest reduction in carfentanyl in some drug supply samples and a shift from injection to inhalation — but public health officials caution the progress is fragile and the crisis is far from over.

01. What is happening in Pickering

Note: City-specific data for Pickering is limited. Figures reflect Ontario-wide trends.

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Ontario recorded 2,639 opioid toxicity deaths in 2023 and 2,231 in 2024, a 15% year-over-year decline — the first sustained drop since deaths surged during COVID-19. The 2024 mortality rate was 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people, down from a pandemic peak of 19.4 per 100,000 in 2021. Fentanyl and its analogues were present in more than 83% of 2024 opioid deaths. Men account for 75% of deaths, and one in five opioid deaths involves a person experiencing homelessness. Multi-substance toxicity — involving stimulants (69%) and prescription benzodiazepines (45%) — is increasingly common. Durham Region received $18.7 million in provincial funding for 2023–2024, a 64% increase over the prior year, and is receiving $516,889 in one-time federal funding for an Opioid Outreach Team in 2025–2026.

03. Why is it getting worse?

The crisis in Pickering and Durham Region is driven by several intersecting factors: (1) the dominance of illicit fentanyl and carfentanyl in the unregulated drug supply — present in over 83% of Ontario opioid deaths — making every use potentially fatal; (2) rising polysubstance toxicity combining opioids with stimulants and benzodiazepines, making overdoses harder to reverse with naloxone alone; (3) a rapid increase in homelessness (up 67% in Durham Region in one year), which correlates directly with overdose risk — one in five Ontario opioid deaths involves a person experiencing homelessness; (4) limited access to culturally appropriate and timely addiction treatment in suburban communities like Pickering, where services are concentrated in Oshawa; (5) social isolation and mental health co-morbidities accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (6) the ongoing normalization of prescription benzodiazepines alongside opioid use in the toxic drug supply.

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:

• Durham Region calls for support amid opioid, homelessness crisisCBC News · 2024-02-16
• More than 2,200 died of opioids in Ontario last year as numbers trend downwardCBC News · 2025
• $13M worth of drug '100 times more potent' than Fentanyl found in Pickering basementCBC News · 2017-10-05
• Opioid crisis in Oshawa and Durham needs action with no 'one-size-fits-all' solution availableINdurham · 2024-10
• Federal officials cite decline in opioid-related deaths but warn progress is fragileDurham Radio News · 2025
• Opioid deaths in Canada fell 17% in 2024, but thousands are still dyingCBC News · 2025