The Addiction Crisis in Saint-Hyacinthe

Saint-Hyacinthe is a city of approximately 60,000 in the Montérégie region of Quebec. No city-specific overdose mortality data is publicly available for Saint-Hyacinthe. The city does, however, have a direct local connection to the opioid crisis response: Saint-Hyacinthe-based pharmaceutical company Sterinova developed NaloxOne, a sterile single-dose naloxone syringe designed to make overdose reversal faster and easier for bystanders. Local addiction services are provided through the Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Saint-Hyacinthe (part of the Santé Montérégie network) and La Maison l'Alcove, a residential resource in the city. Provincial data for Quebec and the Montérégie region is used here as the closest available proxy for local conditions.

Canada recorded approximately 7,150 apparent opioid-related deaths in 2024, down 11% from the 7,560 recorded in 2023 (PHAC). This national decline was driven largely by improvements in British Columbia and Alberta, which have more mature harm reduction infrastructure. Quebec is a notable exception: it is one of only two provinces (along with Newfoundland and Labrador) where overdose deaths continued to rise in 2024. Quebec's death rate of 7.3 per 100,000 remains below the national rate, but the trajectory is worsening. The arrival of nitazenes in Quebec's drug supply in 2025 is a new threat that could push deaths higher.

01. What is happening in Saint-Hyacinthe

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

02. A crisis that did not start this month

Quebec is experiencing a worsening overdose crisis that runs counter to a national declining trend. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) recorded 645 confirmed or suspected drug overdose deaths in 2024 — the highest annual total ever recorded in the province. This represents a 33% surge compared to the prior year, with a death rate of approximately 7.3 per 100,000 people. Fentanyl or analogues were detected in nearly two-thirds of opioid-related deaths, up from 33% in 2017. In early 2025, Health Canada's Drug Analysis Service began detecting newly arrived nitazenes in Quebec drug supplies — synthetic opioids that may be twice as potent as fentanyl. While Canada nationally recorded an 11% year-over-year decline in opioid deaths in 2024, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador moved in the opposite direction. The Montérégie region, which includes Saint-Hyacinthe, reported 77 non-fatal overdoses in 2021, the most recent sub-provincial figure found in public sources.

03. Why is it getting worse?

Several factors explain Quebec's worsening overdose crisis. First, fentanyl penetration in Quebec's illicit drug supply accelerated later than in western Canada but is now deep-rooted, rising from 33% of overdose deaths in 2017 to 65% by late 2024. Second, in early 2025 Health Canada detected nitazenes — synthetic opioids potentially twice as potent as fentanyl — in Quebec samples, raising concerns about a further escalation. Third, Quebec has fewer supervised consumption sites than other provinces, limiting harm reduction infrastructure. Fourth, Quebec's approach has historically leaned toward abstinence-based treatment rather than safer supply, leaving active drug users with fewer low-barrier options. Fifth, social isolation, housing insecurity, and mental health co-morbidities — especially following the COVID-19 pandemic — continue to drive substance use. Finally, stigma remains a barrier: many people in smaller cities like Saint-Hyacinthe do not seek help until crisis point.

04. Where hope still lives

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

05. In the news

• Drug overdose deaths in Canada are dropping. So why is Quebec nearing a record high?CBC News · 2024
• Quebec on pace to record back-to-back years with 600 drug overdose deathsCBC News · 2025
• Overdose deaths in Quebec are on the rise, and the problem could get worseCBC News · 2025
• Opioid deaths fall nationwide, rise in Quebec and N.L.The Globe and Mail · 2025
• Une solution innovatrice conçue et fabriquée à Saint-Hyacinthe pour lutter contre les surdoses d'opioïdesSaint-Hyacinthe Technopole · 2022
• Has Quebec entered a new era of drug-related deaths?UdeM Nouvelles · 2024-08-30