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By battlefordsNOW Staff

Drug OD

Opioid deaths down across Saskatchewan; Caucasian men largest group

Feb 19, 2025 | 7:00 AM

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service 2024 overdose statistics are painting a telling picture: white men are dying of drug overdoses more than any other group in the province.

Of the 168 confirmed deaths relating to opioids among men, 41 of the victims were Caucasian while 39 were First Nations, nine were unknown, six were Metis and one was Black/African American.

While the cities with the most overdoses were in Regina and Saskatoon with 83 and 68 respectively, in the Battlefords, three were confirmed, Meadow Lake had two and Prince Albert had seven.

There was a total of 228 deaths linked to overdoses across the province and 120 suspected and most of the deaths occurred in men and women between the ages of 30-39.

With regards to suicides by overdose, last year the coroner services reported 14 confirmed, marking a decrease from the seven years. According to Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Communications, the coroners conduct death investigations according to established best practices along with working with forensic laboratories and police.

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“There is no evidence suggesting any deaths deemed accidental overdoses are actually suicides,” they said via email.

“The Saskatchewan Coroners Service cannot speculate on what is driving overdose numbers across specific demographics.”

Among the deaths that are attributed to Fentanyl analogs (illegal variations of a drug) Para-Flurofentanyl (PF) was deemed the cause of 131 accidental deaths over Fentanyl’s 105. In fact, according to the numbers by community, more often than not the analogs are the ones leading to deaths. In Battleford, one death was attributed to PF, North Battleford had one death linked to Fentanyl, one to PF and one to Methyl Fentanyl (MF). In Lloydminster, two were linked to Fentanyl, two to Acetyl Fentanyl (AF) and two to MF. Meanwhile Prince Albert is seeing the opposite trend. In 2024, two deaths were linked to Fentanyl while PF and MF each saw one death.

The numbers are showing a decline in 2024; while this is encouraging, it would be premature to speculate on what might be behind this trend.

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cjnb-news@pattisonmedia.com