VICTORIA, BC: The BC Coroners Service’s July 31 report paints a devastating picture: in just two months, at least 292 British Columbians died due to drug use. Behind every number is a life lost, and a family left grieving.
For the first time, the Coroner is tracking the occupations of those who died, and the data confirms what we’ve been hearing from communities for years: this crisis is devastating B.C.’s working people. In 2025, 22% of all known drug deaths have been among workers in trades, transport, and equipment operators.
According to the Construction Foundation of B.C., more than 80% of construction workers report experiencing mental health struggles, where substance abuse rates in the trades are nearly double the national average. These are the people who build our roads, move our goods, power our mills, and keep our economy running, and they are dying in silence, without targeted support.
The risk doesn’t stop at individual health. Drug use in safety-sensitive jobs also creates serious risks for co-workers, the public, and the overall safety of critical infrastructure. Whether it’s a commercial driver, a mill operator, or a construction worker, these are high-stakes roles where impairment can have fatal consequences.
As the Opposition Critics for Mental Health and Addictions and Labour, we are calling attention to this grim reality: the NDP’s drug policy is failing all British Columbians, including the working-class. The people who fuel our economy are being left behind by a system that enables addiction.
Workers in this province also deserve real, effective, and accessible treatment and recovery services, in their communities, in their industries, and at the scale this crisis demands. We believe in recovery with dignity, peer support, and systems that work.
This is also why we’re proud to champion the Build BC campaign, because fighting for local jobs must go hand-in-hand with fighting for the lives of the workers behind them. Our workers are the backbone of this province. If we don’t act, we risk losing the very people we count on to build B.C.’s future.
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