Health

These are the provinces where the opioid crisis is growing fastest

In the past decade alone, the rate of people hospitalized due to opioid poisoning has increased more than 50 per cent, according to new data released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Meanwhile  an average of 16 people a day end up in a Canadian hospital due to opioid poisoning.

How those numbers break down by provinces varies significantly. The territories and western provinces have some of the highest rates in the country, while eastern Canada has some of the lowest.

The following charts show the state of Canada’s opioid crisis.

The most recent opioid hospitalization rates per province:

opioids-provinces-2

How opioid hospitalization rates have changed in each province over the past 10 years:

opioids-pct-cng-07

Of Canada’s 10 largest cities, Edmonton has the highest hospitalization rate for opioids:

opioids-CMAs

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