Cities in northern Ontario are again dominating the top 10 list in the province for the highest rates of opioid-related deaths. Statistics from the Coroner’s office show that, for the first half of 2026, five of the Top 10 cities in Ontario for overdose deaths are in northern Ontario. Thunder Bay ranks first, Greater Sudbury third, Sault Ste. Marie seventh, North Bay eighth and Timmins 10th. In Sudbury, statistics released by the Community Drug Strategy show local paramedics responded to 689 calls for suspected opioid-related incidents from January to September 2026. That’s more than double compared to the same time last year. Recently re-elected Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre said emergency services are stretched. “That’s why we have been calling for more support, and we are trying to certainly increase the capacity, but property taxpayers can’t do that alone,” Lefebvre said. Sudbury can’t do it alone “We have got to work with the province and the federal government to be able to service this crisis that we are dealing with right now.” On Nov. 5, Public Health Sudbury and Districts issued another drug warning, saying that street drugs can be cut with dangerous substances including animal tranquilizers. “Medetomidine is a veterinarian tranquilizer, so it is not FDA approved in Canada,” said Public Health nurse Brittany Pagnacco. “That is a reason we are seeing a lot of sedation in the community. We issued it on Nov. 5 and this was a warning … We received intel from community partners of an increase in drug poisonings as well as an increase in sedation within the community.” Lefebvre said he still backs a call for a provincial framework for involuntary addiction treatment. “I have been calling for all types of treatments,” he said. “Part of the population that is not well (who) can’t make decisions on their own -- how do we serve them? That is the challenge right now. We are seeing a lot of those calls that we are seeing sometimes once or twice a day, the same people going to the emergency department.”
