THUNDER BAY — Almost all of Thunder Bay’s opioid-caused deaths in 2024 were from fentanyl, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says.
And in a number of cases, according to Kandace Belanger, the organization’s manager of street outreach and harm reduction, people died while taking another drug — unaware it was laced with the dangerous opioid.
“The drugs in Thunder Bay are toxic, are contaminated, (and) do not necessarily represent what people are looking for,” Belanger said.
“So, that's a really important message when we're talking to people who may use more recreationally, who may not have a tolerance to substances and may think that they're getting something and lo-and-behold it has fentanyl and other substances in it that they would not have any kind of tolerance to.”
According to statistics from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s catchment area — a 230,000 square kilometre swath that covers the city, as well as points west, east and north to the Hudson Bay coast — had the highest rate of death by opioid poisoning of all of Ontario’s health units in 2024.
It also topped the list in 2023.
Another trend public health officials are taking note of, Belanger said, is that more people are inhaling fentanyl, rather than taking it by injection.
“I think it's important for the public to understand that inhaled drugs can be just as toxic as those that are injected,” she said.
“I think sometimes there's a bit of a perception that inhaling or smoking drugs is a safer way to use them — and certainly it can protect them against infectious diseases — but it does not protect them from the toxic drug supply that is in Thunder Bay.”
Aside from fentanyl, Belanger said that other cutting agents, such as those containing benzodiazepines, can further complicate overdoses and can affect how Naloxone — the fast-acting medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — works.
That’s why, if people are going to use, getting their drugs tested has been so important, she said, referring to the service NorWest Community Health Centres used to provide on-site through its Path 525 program until the province forced its closure earlier in 2025.
NorWest has received funding to have outreach workers visit vulnerable populations to offer drug checking services.
The health unit does have drug testing strips that test for the presence of fentanyl, but Belanger said they’re not as advanced as the testing equipment NorWest has been using in its programming which, she said, can show how much fentanyl there is.
“It can only tell you that ‘yes, fentanyl is present’ or no ‘fentanyl is not present,’” she said. “Again, that's limiting because it really is a dose-dependent situation, but it can be an opportunity for education about what's in the substances.”
Public health also continues to focus on harm reduction, encouraging people who will continue to use to do things like never use alone, use NorWest’s Lifeguard app, and carry — and know how to administer — Naloxone. Belanger said it can be accessed for free through the health unit or pharmacies. The health unit also provides free training.
“We recommend that everybody carry Naloxone, particularly if you have somebody in your life who might be using substances, but you never know when you might come across this in our community given these high rates,” she said.
Belanger added the current drug supply is dangerous to everybody who uses, regardless of age or gender.
“Anyone who uses substances is at risk.”
This story is part of a special feature on opioid deaths in Thunder Bay and the region.
