Illegal opioids have claimed the lives of two Fort McMurray residents so far in 2021.
Earlier this month, the government of Alberta provided updated numbers for the entire province over the first three months of the year.
In total, 338 Albertans have died from an apparent overdose which is more than double from the start of 2020.
Two of these individuals lived in Fort McMurray.
The other six major communities – Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Grande Prairie – saw much higher numbers.
Medicine Hat, which had eight apparent overdoses, was the closest to Fort McMurray’s total, while Edmonton has seen the most with 109 deaths.
The community is currently on pace for eight deaths this year.
This would be tied with 2019 for the fewest amount of deaths seen in a calendar year since the opioid crisis started in 2016.
Meanwhile, no one in Fort McMurray has died as a result of alcohol, cocaine, or methamphetamines in the first three months of the year.
These three substances claimed the lives of 17 individuals in 2020.
Each also saw record death tolls in the community last year with every one happening from March on, which marks the time COVID-19 cases started being recorded and restrictions were introduced across the province.
