File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Aaron Schulze

Toxic Drug Crisis

Kamloops loses five lives due to toxic drugs in April

Jun 25, 2025 | 7:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops lost five lives due to the toxic drug crisis in April 2025.

New figures through April released Tuesday (June 24) by the BC Coroners Service show 16 suspected unregulated drug deaths were recorded in Kamloops, up from 11 as of the end of March.

Kamloops suffered its second-deadliest year amid the toxic drug crisis in 2024 with 90 fatalities recorded. The city’s highest number of deaths in a year is 92 set in 2022.

Kamloops is on pace to lose 48 lives due to the toxic drug crisis in 2025, which would be its lowest number since 25 were recorded in 2019.

Across the province, the coroners finds that 165 people died from unregulated toxic drugs in April for a total of 594 so far in 2025.

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Twenty-nine deaths due to unregulated drug toxicity took place within Interior Health for a total of 106 through April. By health service delivery area, the coroners service says the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap has lost 29 lives as of April for a death rate of 33.2 per 100,000 residents.

B.C.’s deadliest record is 2,581 drug fatalities in one year in 2023. The province set its fourth-deadliest record with 2,271 in 2024.

The coroners service’s figures can be viewed here.