New StatCan data shows sharply different drug-use patterns across eight Canadian cities, with methamphetamine elevated in parts of the Prairies and Moncton, cocaine comparatively high in Halifax and fentanyl highest in Metro Vancouver.
New StatCan data shows starkly different drug-use patterns across 8 Canadian cities
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A woman smokes drugs from a pipe on Dundas Street in downtown London, Ont., in August 2026. The latest StatCan figures offer a window into which drugs are showing up most prominently in different communities. (Alessio Donnini/CBC)
Flush a toilet in Prince Albert, Sask., and the wastewater tells a very different drug story than it does in Halifax or Vancouver.
New Statistics Canada data shows striking differences in drugs detected in wastewater across eight Canadian cities:
- Methamphetamine and cocaine levels were highest in Prince Albert and also elevated in Saskatoon and Moncton, N.B.
- Halifax had the lowest methamphetamine levels but comparatively high cocaine levels.
- Fentanyl remained dramatically higher in Metro Vancouver than elsewhere.
The StatCan survey measures drug metabolites — chemical byproducts excreted after the body breaks down drugs — in wastewater samples collected during one-week sampling windows every two months.
This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/wastewater-drug-use-by-city-canada-9.7357584?cmp=rss
