Ottawa saw a stiff decrease in the number of 9-1-1 calls related to overdoses in 2025, but Ottawa Police say that doesn\u2019t always give an accurate representation of the problem across the city.<\/p>\n
According to year-end data<\/a>, OPS say they responded to 810 overdose-related calls in 2025, down from 1,480 the year prior. This number has been steadily decreasing since its peak in 2023.<\/p>\n But so far in 2026, number seem to be climbing. Most recent year to date data encapsulates Jan. 1 to Feb. 17. In this time period, OPS responded to 93 overdose calls, compared to 51 during the same period in 2025.<\/p>\n But not all who suspect an overdose call 9-1-1. Ottawa Public Health data shows that between Feb. 2 and Mar. 1, Ottawa hospitals saw 276 suspected overdose cases.<\/p>\n Many of those hospital visits occur in the Lowertown West neighbourhood. According to OPH, this neighbourhood sees catastrophically higher rates of overdoses compared to any other Ottawa neighbourhood.<\/p>\n On average, Lowertown West sees 126 overdoses per year, more than double Sandy Hill which sees the next highest. When taken into account the population of these neighbourhoods, Lowertown West\u2019s rate of overdose per 100,000 population is nearly six time higher than Sandy Hill.<\/p>\n Lowertown West was also home to one of Ottawa\u2019s supervised consumption sites prior to its closure<\/a> <\/a>in September 2025. OPH fought to renew an exemption to continue operating the site downtown, citing its role in ensuring the \u201chealth and safety of all Ottawa residents\u201d, but that exemption was ultimately not granted by the Ministry of Health. <\/p>\n While the high rate of overdoses in the neighbourhood cannot be said to be a result of the closure of the site, it does represent a need for continued health intervention.<\/p>\n Since the program launched in 2017 it had nearly 33,000 visits. In 2024 alone, it had 3,546 visits and staff were able to respond to 27 non-fatal overdoses.<\/p>\n