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New StatCan wastewater data reveals methamphetamine hotspots in Prince Albert and Saskatoon, cocaine prominence in Halifax, and highest fentanyl levels in Metro Vancouver.
New wastewater data from Statistics Canada 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. The latest StatCan figures offer a window into which drugs are showing up most prominently in different communities.
Wastewater Analysis Reveals Regional Drug Patterns
Flush a toilet in Prince Albert, Sask., and the wastewater tells a very different drug story than it does in Halifax or Vancouver. Methamphetamine and cocaine levels were highest in Prince Albert and also elevated in Saskatoon and Moncton, N.B. 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. The data, from January 2024 to March 2026, covers catchments serving about 9.2 million people.
StatCan cautions that it does not show exactly how many people use a drug or how much they consume. But it is a pretty good proxy of drug consumption within the area served by a treatment plant, StatCan analyst Sianne Kuang told CBC News.
Methamphetamine Highest in Prairie Cities
Prince Albert had the highest methamphetamine levels of any city monitored and the greatest fluctuations in both methamphetamine and cocaine. In March 2026, its estimated methamphetamine load was 2,003 milligrams per 1,000 people per day — more than nine times Toronto's roughly 214 milligrams.
There are many different drivers of different substance use, and one of them is just what is available in the market, said Kora DeBeck, a professor in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. It seems much more connected to drug trafficking and how the networks of drug production and trafficking work, and we really do not have good insight into that.
Saskatoon also recorded some of the highest methamphetamine levels, along with Moncton, but behind Prince Albert. Its March 2026 reading was about 958 milligrams per 1,000 people per day. Edmonton's methamphetamine load reached about 1,071 milligrams per 1,000 people per day in January 2025 and stood at 624 in March 2026 — nearly three times Toronto's level that month.
Methamphetamine was involved in 63 per cent of stimulant toxicity deaths in New Brunswick in 2024 — the highest share involving methamphetamine among Atlantic provinces, StatCan noted. In March 2026, Halifax recorded just 56 milligrams of methamphetamine per 1,000 people per day, the lowest among the cities monitored, while cocaine was about 1,734 milligrams. Prince Albert's cocaine reading was about 5,296 milligrams — roughly three times Halifax's. Cocaine was involved in 86 per cent of stimulant-related deaths in Nova Scotia in 2024, compared with 14 per cent involving methamphetamine.
Monty Ghosh, an addiction physician and researcher at the University of Alberta, said local production, using different precursors, formulas and mixtures, can create distinct regional supplies. They do not have the same formula they are using. They do not use necessarily the same compounds or drugs.
Fentanyl Levels Remain Highest in Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver consistently recorded the highest fentanyl levels of all eight cities. Average levels declined in 2025 and early 2026 compared with 2024, a change StatCan says coincided with a drop in Vancouver's opioid toxicity deaths. People did not demand or want fentanyl in the beginning. It just arrived and was there, and then people became dependent on it, DeBeck said.
Ghosh said falling fentanyl measurements do not necessarily capture everything happening in the opioid supply, noting that there are different forms of fentanyl out there, which may not be measured here.
Toronto's methamphetamine levels were far below those recorded in Prince Albert and Saskatoon, but another stimulant stood out. Across available reporting months from July 2024 to March 2026, Toronto had the highest average MDMA levels of the eight cities, at about 40 milligrams per 1,000 people per day. Montreal recorded relatively low methamphetamine levels, along with some of the lowest opioid readings in the study.
The data provides a snapshot of drug consumption trends across diverse Canadian communities, highlighting the importance of regional approaches to substance use and public health responses.
Statcan Wastewater Data Prince Albert Metro Vancouver Methamphetamine Fentanyl Cocaine
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