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New substance use numbers from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) shows just how much opioid-related calls have risen over the past decade.
In 2016, WFPS received 231 calls related to opioids. Those numbers stayed relatively consistent until 2020, when opioid-related calls ballooned to 1,227, according to the data.
That number spiked again in 2023, nearly tripling at 3,400 calls.
Unfinalized data for 2025 shows a total of 9,045 substance-related calls, including for opioids, crystal meth, alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. Of that, opioids accounted for nearly a third, with 2,927 calls last year.
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Ryan Woiden, the president of MGEU Local 911 Paramedics of Winnipeg, says the calls are taking a toll on first responders.
“These calls, they stay with you when you go home, you’re thinking about them all the time,” Woiden told Global News.
“When you have somebody in cardiac arrest and it’s your third overdose of the day, and you don’t bring them back, you start to go home wondering are we doing anything positive? It really can affect people.”
The data shows a similar, but less drastic scenario for crystal meth, with 426 calls in 2016 and 1,187 in 2025.
Sgt. Kurt Kozyra with the Winnipeg Police Service’s Guns and Gangs Unit says the increase in crystal meth and opioid calls over the past decade is connected to a more evolved drug trafficking network.
Although numbers are down over the past decade, alcohol still accounts for the majority of calls to WFPS, with 4,369 calls in 2025 compared to 5,705 calls in 2016.
“It was very rudimentary back in 2016 — most users were using a very basic method of powdered substance that they were getting online,” Sgt. Kozyra said.
“It’s now transitioning into a very sophisticated trafficking network and that has brought prices dramatically down.”
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