The four people pictured above represent a typical day’s death toll from opioid poisonings in Alberta last year, the deadliest on record for the province.
The addictive drugs claimed the lives of at least 1,706 Albertans in 2023, according to new data just released by the province’s substance use surveillance system. That works out, on average, to more than four deaths each and every day.
The previous record was set in 2021, when 1,634 people died. (The province started collecting data in 2016.)
And the staggering toll for 2023 isn’t yet complete, as it takes months for many opioid deaths to be reported and included
