Saskatoon records 680 overdose calls in April, up 288% from last year

Saskatoon Fire Department numbers show overdose calls spiked to record levels in April. Laura Woodward reports.

The city of Saskatoon is seeing a dramatic spike in overdoses.

Firefighters responded to 680 overdose calls in April, the highest monthly total on record and 288 per cent higher than in April 2025.

In the first three months of 2026, crews responded to an average of five to six overdose calls a day.

In April, that jumped to nearly 23 calls a day.

The peak came April 29, when firefighters responded to 56 overdose calls in 24 hours.

The spikes tend to come in clusters, according to Deputy Chief Sean Thody.

“It’s kind of a rollercoaster ride,” he said.

Thody said it’s too early to link the closure of Prairie Harm Reduction to the increase.

“I really shy away from pinpointing any certain cause. There’s definitely a gap in service,” Thody told CTV News.

“Last year, Prairie Harm was open and we were seeing the spike. So to attribute it to one specific thing — there’s too many moving parts and too many factors."

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Jay Protz, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 80, said the steady stream of overdose calls takes a toll on first responders.

“If you don’t have that downtime to decompress, it starts to weigh on you,” the union president said.

“We’re always going to show up, we’ll always be there when somebody makes the call.”

More overdose calls in downtown, 8th Street East

Fire department maps show the highest concentration of overdose calls remains in Pleasant Hill and Riversdale, with more calls in the downtown core and along 8th Street East.

“With Prairie Harm closing, I would say that our call volume has spread out — it’s not as centralized as it once was," Protz said, noting there are often multiple patients at a single overdose call.

Prairie Harm Reduction offered drug-testing services, providing information about the toxicity of street drugs to help inform first responders and the Ministry of Health.

The non-profit shut down on April 9, citing a significant funding shortfall after firing its executive director.

So far this month, the city is averaging more than 15 overdose calls a day — putting May on pace to surpass last year’s total.