The number of people dying while experiencing homelessness is on the rise for the fifth consecutive year in B.C., according to recently released 2024 data from the B.C. Coroners Service.
That year, 507 people died while homeless, a more than tripling from 157 deaths in 2020.
The reason for the increase isn’t yet clear, according to B.C.’s chief coroner, but the data shows the vast majority (78 per cent) of deaths were due to unregulated toxic drugs.
The report comes a decade into B.C.’s declaration of the toxic drug crisis as a public health emergency — and amid memorials in communities like Victoria where people are expressing mounting grief and calling for system-level action on the causes of homelessness and drug deaths.