Sault opioid death rate for 2024 is 'very worrisome': Shoemaker

New figures from the Office of the Chief Coroner reveal that Northern Ontario continues to bear the brunt of the province’s worsening opioid epidemic

Originally Published May 16th, 2025 - Kenneth Armstrong, SooToday

Sault Ste. Marie’s mayor says the city’s ongoing position among Ontario’s hardest-hit municipalities for opioid-related deaths highlights the urgent need for more support services.

On Thursday, the Office of the Chief Coroner released its most recent statistics related to the opioid crisis.

The data shows the Sault had the second-highest opioid death rate in Ontario in 2024, behind Thunder Bay.

"The Sault’s position on the ranking is very worrisome and shows the need to bring the newly approved services online as quickly as possible," said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker in an email on Friday.

While Shoemaker notes some services like the Algoma Youth Wellness Hub, Northway Wellness Centre and Sault Area Hospital's Concurrent Disorders Day Treatment Program are operational in the city, there are still more services needed to combat the opioid crisis.

In January, the provincial government announced Sault Ste. Marie would receive a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub.

In March, the federal government announced funding to expand the local Community Wellness Bus to a 24/7 operation.

"We still have to ensure the HART Hub comes online as soon as possible [and] get the new Community Wellness Bus rolled out on a 24/7 basis," said Shoemaker.

In addition to those services, Shoemaker said the success and shortfall from those programs needs to be monitored and adjustments to advocacy must be made once the impacts are assessed.

Thunder Bay has the highest opioid death rate in the province for 2024, with 80 deaths and a mortality rate of 69.14 people per 100,000 population.

Sault Ste. Marie is second, with 38 deaths and a mortality rate of 48.36 people per 100,000 population. In 2023, there were 37 opioid-related deaths reported in the city.

Greater Sudbury also made the top 10, ranking seventh in Ontario. It had 59 deaths and a rate of 32.81.

For statistics on the entire health unit coverage areas, the top six most impacted areas in the province are in the North.

Thunder Bay District Health Unit is the highest, with a mortality rate of more than 50 per 100,000 population. This rate is slightly higher than the year prior.

The Porcupine Health Unit is second with a rate of over 40, which is down from 2024.

The Timiskaming Health Unit is sixth, with a mortality rate in the mid 20s per 100,000 population. Because this data is from 2024, the Porcupine and Timiskaming health units have separate data. The merger to create Northeastern Public Health went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Algoma Public Health, Sudbury and District Health, and Northwestern Health fill the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively, with rates ranging from 30 to nearly 40.

In Algoma, four opioid-related deaths were recorded in Elliot Lake in 2024, while three more occurred in nearby Blind River. Garden River First Nation and the unorganized area of Algoma each recorded one opioid-related death in 2024.

— with files from TimminsToday