Opioid-related deaths decline, but new trends could have deadly results
Posted Sep 9, 2025 10:59:52 AM.
Last Updated Sep 9, 2025 03:36:18 PM.
Opioid-related deaths and mortality rates are on the decline in Guelph and the surrounding area, but growing trends in drug-mixing could have deadly results, according to public health officials.
According to Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, last year, 19 opioid-related deaths were reported in Guelph, a steep decline from the 31 deaths reported in 2023. Additionally, opioid-related mortality rates dropped by 37 per cent between those two years, reaching the lowest levels since 2017.
The rate of opioid-related emergency department visits also decreased in the Guelph area by around 14 per cent in 2024, with those statistics remaining below the provincial average for the sixth consecutive year.
Last week, a health alert was extended after the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy recorded 26 additional overdoses including another fatality in the span of just seven days.
Fentanyl continues to be the leading contributor to opioid-related deaths in the region. It’s present in 80 per cent of the opioid-related deaths recorded in the Guelph area, a statistic slightly above the provincial average.
“Tranq-dope” is also becoming more common in the Guelph area. The substance is created when tranquillizers like benzodiazepine, xylazine, or other veterinary tranquillizers are mixed with opioids. The mixture makes treating overdoses more difficult as well, as administered naloxone kits battle with the suppressed nervous system to reverse the effects of the opioids.
Benzodiazepines are becoming increasingly present in the unregulated drug supply in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph area. In 2024, they appeared in 56 per cent of opioid-related deaths where non-opioids are present. In 2020, that number was at just over 10 per cent.
The public health unit is also highlighting some statistics that fly in the face of some popular beliefs. They noted that, since 2021, only one in five opioid-related deaths happened to people experiencing homelessness, pushing back on the belief that opioid toxicity deaths only happen to those without housing.
