Vancouver wastewater has the highest level of fentanyl byproduct in Canada, by far

File photo shows syringes of the opioid painkiller fentanyl in an inpatient pharmacy. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

New wastewater data shows that Vancouver had the highest levels of a fentanyl byproduct among cities tested in Canada — four to five times as much as any other location studied.

The Statistics Canada report analyzed wastewater for various drugs throughout 2022 and 2023, including cocaine, ecstasy and fentanyl.

The study looked at levels of norfentanyl, a byproduct that occurs when fentanyl breaks down in the body, to gauge fentanyl usage trends. Overall, levels in 2023 were slightly lower when compared to the year before.

While cities hadsignificantly different concentrations, Vancouver topped the list by far. Vancouver wastewater measured between 28 and 46 milligrams per day per 1,000 people.

Edmonton and Toronto, the cities with the next-highest concentrations, topped out around nine milligrams.

The opioid crisis

Fentanyl wastewater levels were mostly flat across 2022-23, and similarly, the rate of opioid deaths in Canada has also stayed relatively stable compared to the dramatic rise in years prior.

Across the country, there were 8,049 total opioid toxicity deaths in Canada in 2023. That amounts to 22 deaths per day, and an annual rate of 20.8 deaths per 100,000 people. That rate was up from 19.4 in 2022, but about equal to the rate in 2021, when there were 20.6 deaths per 100,000.

That number, however, is nearly triple of what it was in 2016.

Over that same time span, fentanyl has become significantly more prominent in accidental opioid deaths. In 2023, more than 80 per cent of cases involved fentanyl, compared to just 57 per cent of cases in 2016.

Other drugs in wastewater

The study also looked at several other drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.

For data on other drugs and more information about wastewater testing, see Statistics Canada's full dashboard, Levels of Drugs in the Wastewater of Canadian Cities.