Photo gallery: A decade of death — B.C. counts drug emergency’s cost

By Canadian Press on April 8, 2026.

Next week marks the 10th anniversary of the declaration of a public health emergency in response to British Columbia’s drug overdose crisis, which has since claimed more than 18,000 lives. Grieving friends and families, former policy makers, medical workers and those who use drugs are reflecting on the disastrous decade and what could have been done differently to save more lives.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

The Canadian Press