The Addiction Crisis in Saguenay

Saguenay (city within the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region) has experienced a worsening overdose crisis, though it remains comparatively less severe than the rest of Canada. In 2024, 21 people died of a drug overdose in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region — the highest toll since systematic tracking began. Cocaine is now the dominant substance, detected in 80% of toxicological analyses, while opioids were present in 40% of cases. The regional crisis is driven not by rising numbers of people who use drugs, but by increasingly unpredictable drug contamination: people are consuming opioids unknowingly, often mixed into stimulants, without the tolerance to survive an overdose. Saguenay's first permanent supervised consumption site, La Baraque (operated by the Service de travail de rue de Chicoutimi), opened in 2024 at 221 rue Tessier in Chicoutimi and provides drug testing, naloxone, sterile equipment, and referrals. The region does not yet have a formal surveillance mechanism for non-fatal overdoses, meaning the true scale of harm is likely undercounted.

Canada recorded approximately 7,150 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in 2024 (preliminary; PHAC), down 17% from the prior year — and 56,631 cumulative opioid deaths between 2016 and 2025. Quebec bucked the national trend: its 645 drug overdose deaths in 2024 were the highest ever recorded in the province, up 20% from 536 in 2023. British Columbia (2,299), Ontario (2,231), and Alberta (1,181) remained the hardest-hit provinces by volume, but all three saw declines in 2024. Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador were the only major provinces where deaths rose. Nationally, fentanyl or analogues were detected in approximately 58% of opioid deaths in 2025. The PHAC baseline figure of ~7,560 apparent opioid toxicity deaths cited for 2023 reflects the peak before the 2024 national decline.

01. What is happening in Saguenay

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, representing a 20% increase from 536 deaths in 2023 and more than double the deaths recorded in 2022. This trend runs counter to the national picture: Canada as a whole saw a 17% decline in opioid-related deaths in 2024, with 7,150 deaths nationally. Quebec was one of only three provinces where deaths rose. Fentanyl contamination of the illicit drug supply is a primary driver, with more than 50 new synthetic substances entering the market annually. Less than 1% of Quebec's health budget is allocated to substance use treatment, even as over 4% of the population is affected by substance use disorders. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) tracks these deaths provincially, and the province launched its National Overdose Prevention Strategy in 2022.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Three intersecting forces are driving the crisis in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. First, drug supply contamination: the illicit market increasingly contains unpredictable mixtures of substances — opioids are being found in cocaine and stimulant supplies, exposing people with no opioid tolerance to fatal doses. Cocaine was detected in 80% of 2024 overdose deaths in the region, with opioids co-present in 40% of cases. Second, demographic vulnerability: the typical fatality is a man aged 35–64 (accounting for 77% of deaths and 77% of the 35–64 age range), often with a long history of substance use, lower likelihood of seeking help, and higher risk of relapse after periods of abstinence. Sixty-five percent of overdose deaths occur at home, out of reach of emergency services. Third, structural underfunding: less than 1% of Quebec's health budget goes to substance use treatment, and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean had no permanent supervised consumption site until 2024. No formal surveillance system for non-fatal overdoses exists in the region, making early intervention difficult. The result is a situation where the number of people using drugs is not dramatically increasing — but the drugs themselves are far more likely to kill.

04. Where hope still lives

Communities across Quebec 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:

• Les surdoses mortelles en augmentation au Saguenay–Lac-Saint-JeanRadio-Canada · 2025-11-23
• Le Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean moins touché par la crise du fentanylRadio-Canada · 2023-01-01
• Record de surdoses au Québec : Un problème de qualité et non de quantitéLe Quotidien · 2025-02-08
• Hausse des décès en lien avec les opioïdes au Saguenay–Lac-Saint-JeanRadio-Canada · 2020-06-17
• Opioid deaths drop nationally, but rise in Quebec and Newfoundland and LabradorGlobal News · 2025-03-01
• Quebec on pace to record back-to-back years with 600 drug overdose deathsCBC News · 2025-11-01