B.C. Chief Coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan stated while the province will likely see a sizable drop in the number of overdose deaths in 2025, it is no reason to celebrate.
2,315 overdose deaths were tallied in 2024.
As of the end of October (2025), 1,538 people province-wide died from illicit drugs with the final numbers expected to come out in February.
Through the first ten months of last year, 48 people died from an illicit drug overdose in Prince George.
In Northern Health, the number of fatalities reached 116 at the end of October.
In an interview with Vista Radio, Baidwan said the data the Coroners Service has collected over the past year shows a higher chance of a lesser quality of life, the more times a person overdoses.
“Every time you overdose, every time you need to be brought back there is good science out that there is irreparable damage being done to the way your brain is being wired. It is going to be harder and harder for you to live a longer than normal or productive life drug-free.”
He added it’s hard to point to one thing as the main driving force for the overall decline in drug-related fatalities.
“I don’t think we have found a single thing that we can honestly say is single-handily responsible for that reduction. I think there has been a decrease in the lethality of the supply although it still carries on being an incredibly lethal supply out there. I don’t know what the answer to that question is, I think I would be making stuff up if I tried to find a reason for that.”
“I really don’t know what it is (that has led to the decrease). I am glad that it has happened but I am not happy that people are still dying, we are still seeing certain demographics where we are seeing increasing deaths.”
Dr. Baidwan also took aim provincial politicians lamenting they need to “stop debating the facts” and using this public health emergency as a political football.
“The facts are there, they are concrete and they exist. We need to do a better job as a province putting the facts out there. We keep on doing it but it shouldn’t be open for debate. If someone dies from and overdose, that is what they died from. This is the drugs they took, this is the lifestyle that they led and this is what needs to be changed – how you do it and how it can be changed is up for debate but we need to stop debating that fact.”
“It seems to me that across the world, facts are out of fashion,” added Baidwan.
One concerning trend Baidwan is keeping an eye on is the intersectionality between youth suicide and youth drug use and overdose.
“It’s all based on the fact that a lot of children who do take illicit drugs that are not prescribed take them because of the situation they are in, the trauma they have experienced and the deep feeling and pain that they have emotionally. Kids treat them with opioids sometimes and others actually want to kill themselves.”
“The two things are related and we are seeing a raise in both and that to me is a bigger alarm bell. We do need to be looking at these subset of individuals, these younger children that we can make a difference for if we get in and do the right things.”
The chief corner referenced a New Westminster-based program called Dan’s Legacy where the whole treatment model is centred around trauma-informed therapy, a service not currently delivered in all corners of B.C.
“All the kids that go to that group are self-referred and they are a very community-based group. The staff look after those kids in the best way they can and look after their physical well-being, encourage to get them ready for therapy, they need to be eating well and then there is intensive therapy for 16-weeks. I am not advocating for that over any other way but it seems to be a good way of working.”
“It’s an organic way of attacking the issue than just treating it.”
Province-wide there were 35 youth overdose deaths in 2023, followed by 30 in 2022 while two years ago saw only 24.
Lastly, Baidwan would like to see community or field coroners get a long-overdue raise in pay.
Field coroners haven’t had a wage increase since 2016, staying at its current rate of $32/per hour.
With the Coroners Service slowly expanding to more areas of B.C. its time the province stepped up to give them a financial boost.
“We have rural coroners now, which is a big positive but it’s been challenging managing in this financially constrained sort of era.”
“Trying to do the right thing by the people we have working for us. You have seen the newspapers, community coroners compensation isn’t fantastic and it’s hard to motivate people when they are struggling.”
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