The opioid crisis claimed more than 520 lives in Toronto last year, a grim figure that public health officials blamed on an unregulated drug supply increasingly contaminated with toxic substances.

In a press release Wednesday, Toronto Public Health said preliminary statistics show the city recorded 523 opioid toxicity deaths in 2023, a steep increase from figures before the pandemic.

“The continued loss of life to the ongoing drug toxicity epidemic is devastating and has left a profound and painful impact on so many of us in our community. This is more than a public health issue — it’s a human tragedy that demands we respond with empathy, care and compassion,” Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said in a statement.

The agency said the crisis has intensified with the onset of COVID-19. Last year’s figure was an increase of about 75 per cent from the 300 opioid deaths TPH recorded in 2019. It reported 552, 591 and 507 deaths in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.

“This is not the new normal … compared to a number of years ago these are still an unbelievable number of deaths,” said Alexander Caudarella, CEO of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, in response to the latest figures.