Canada records almost 50,000 deaths from fentanyl since 2016

A fentanyl user displays a 'safe supply' of opioid alternatives in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia [File: Jesse Winter/Reuters]

Fentanyl is increasingly behind opioid overdose deaths in Canada, according to new government data.

The national health agency on Monday reported that nearly 50,000 people in the North American country died from opioid overdose deaths from January 2016 to June 2024.