Ontario opioid deaths among workers highest in construction, report finds
An ODPRN study found construction and trades workers accounted for about one-third of Ontario opioid toxicity deaths with known jobs.
By Priya Raghavan · Science Reporter
4 min read
Ontario opioid deaths workers data show construction and trades employees were hit hardest by fatal opioid toxicity between 2018 and 2024, according to a new Ontario Drug Policy Research Network report. The finding matters because the report says risk varied sharply by job sector, pointing to the need for prevention efforts built around different workplaces and life circumstances.
The ODPRN, based at St. Michael’s Hospital and Unity Health Toronto, said construction and trades workers accounted for about one-third of opioid toxicity deaths in Ontario where the person’s occupation was known. The sector also had the highest death rates, and those rates rose during the study period, the research group said.
Which workers had the highest opioid death rates in Ontario?
The ODPRN report found the highest rates among people working in construction and trades, with senior author Tara Gomes also identifying construction, trades and mining as industries with the highest opioid-related death rates. Gomes, a scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital and ICES, said the deaths increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed high afterward.
The report examined opioid toxicity deaths across employment sectors in Ontario from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2024. Researchers used population-based health care data from ICES, a nonprofit institute that studies health care issues using health data, according to the ODPRN.
Ontario recorded nearly 16,000 opioid toxicity deaths during that period, the report said. About 3,500 of those people had an occupation listed in the coroner’s report and were included in the sector analysis.
Shaleesa Ledlie, a senior research associate at the ODPRN and lead author of the study, said opioid toxicity affects people across many kinds of work, but the circumstances and prevention needs differ by workplace. The report uses opioid toxicity deaths to describe fatal opioid poisonings, the category examined in the coroner and health data.
Why construction and trades stood out
Gomes said the reasons are likely multiple. The report pointed to male-dominated workforces, injury risk, undertreated pain, difficulty getting treatment and barriers to talking about substance use as possible factors in construction, trades and similar sectors.
Andrzej Celinski, a study co-author and co-founder of the Reclaim Collective, said his experience in construction made the findings unsurprising. He said physically demanding work, injuries, chronic pain and fear around asking for help can make it harder for workers to seek support before problems worsen.
Celinski said workplaces could do more by making naloxone, overdose training, awareness and connections to care more visible. He said many workers may not use traditional services, making workplace-based harm reduction a way to reach people earlier.
Other sectors also showed elevated risks
The ODPRN said manufacturing, hospitality and retail workers each represented close to 10% of deaths among people with known occupations. Rates rose over time among people in civic and government services, including police, military personnel and firefighters, the report said.
Manufacturing and transportation, warehousing and equipment operations had consistently high rates, according to the ODPRN. Researchers said some of these jobs can involve physically demanding work, workplace injury, chronic pain, mental health challenges and poor support during transitions from pain medication.
Hospitality showed a different pattern, with rates peaking in the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic and then declining, the report said. About one-third of people who died were unemployed at the time of death, and the hospitality sector had a higher share of unemployment at death, which researchers said may reflect pandemic layoffs or risks linked to leaving work because of injury, pain or mental health challenges.
The ODPRN said most deaths were classified as accidental. Three sectors — civic and government services, health care, and administrative, financial and support services — had higher proportions of deaths by suicide.
Gomes said the findings support tailored programs that go beyond workplaces, since most opioid-related deaths occurred in people’s homes. The report said reducing stigma, improving access to treatment and harm reduction services, and addressing housing instability, income insecurity, pain management and mental health care are all part of reducing substance-related harm.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.