Statscan recently released an analysis of their Canadian Wastewater Survey (CWS). It suggests that drug use increased early in the pandemic but that usage patterns varied by city.
Fentanyl loads in wastewater were more than four times higher in Vancouver than the other measured cities, and its fentanyl load almost doubled between Mar - July 2019 and Mar - July 2020. While Toronto's fentanyl wastewater load was considerably lower than Vancouver in the Mar - Jul 2019 period, it had a larger proportional increase in the Mar - Jul 2020 period.
The CWS has been testing wastewater samples in five cities — Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver — since March 2019. The analysis covers data gathered from March to July 2019 and from January to July 2020.
Feel free share other observations about the CWS analysis and survey.