The City of Grande Prairie had the most fentanyl-related deaths per capita in the province in 2019. That’s according to the recently released Alberta Health report on opioids.
It says 24 people in Grande Prairie died of an accidental fentanyl overdose last year, a per capita rate of just over 32 people per 100,000. Grande Prairie sits third in total fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta, trailing only the two most populous cities, Edmonton and Calgary.
Cities more comparable to the size of Grande Prairie all came in well below the Swan City when it comes to opioid-related deaths. Lethbridge had 16 reported deaths, while Fort McMurray had eight.
Grande Prairie has a number of operations in place to help curb the trend of fentanyl overdoses, including the Community Opioid Response Task Force, as well as a safe consumption site that opened in March 2019.
Grande Prairie also lead the province in fentanyl-related deaths per capita in 2016.