A new study has found workers in Ontario’s construction, natural resources and hospitality industries were most likely to fatally overdose in recent years.
Researchers say the findings highlight how different occupations pose different drug-related risks — and point to the need for industry-specific prevention efforts and unemployment supports.
“A lot of [the elevated overdose risk] relates back to untreated pain, stigma around talking about substance use and pain, and precarious employment,” said Shaleesa Ledlie, a senior research associate at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, which conducted the study.
“It’s an intersection of all of these factors.”
The report by the research group examined overdose deaths across 12 occupational sectors between 2018 and 2024.
Construction workers accounted for about one-third of all overdose deaths, at a rate of nearly 55 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Workers in agriculture and natural resources — which includes forestry, mining and fishing — came second, at 32 deaths per 100,000. Hospitality workers came third.
The high overdose burden among workers in natural resources and agriculture particularly surprised the study authors.
“[The new report] helps us look at some of these sectors that I think were previously missed,” Ledlie said.
The occupational overdose rates include workers who were recently unemployed at the time of their deaths. More than one-third of workers who died were out of work.
This trend was particularly noticeable among hospitality and arts workers during the pandemic years, when layoffs were widespread.
Researchers say job loss can lead to a loss of routine, social connections and workplace health benefits, creating a period of heightened vulnerability.
“We need to support people in their workplaces, but more broadly, if you’re not employed, you lose access to a lot of those supports,” Ledlie said. “The bigger question is how do we support people when they’re transitioning out of the workforce?”
Ledlie says that means ensuring people can continue to access harm reduction and addiction treatment within their communities.
Different jobs, different drugs
The report found most overdose deaths involved multiple substances, underscoring the dangers of an increasingly unpredictable drug supply.
However, fentanyl dominated overdose deaths across sectors. More than 80 per cent of deaths among construction and natural resource workers involved fentanyl or related synthetic opioids.
Cocaine was involved in half of overdose deaths among construction and trades workers; methamphetamine appeared in roughly one-quarter of deaths in both sectors.
Researchers say the differing drug patterns likely reflect the realities of physically demanding occupations.
“In some of these sectors where it can be shift work or very long hours or working through the night, sometimes stimulants are used to help someone stay alert,” Ledlie said.
“Especially if, at the end of the day, you might be using an opioid, alcohol or another depressant to help unwind and get rest, then stimulants might come into play to counteract that.”
Unique job challenges
In every sector except health care, men accounted for most overdose deaths.
The study found health-care workers were more likely to die from pharmaceutical opioids alone and had a higher proportion of deaths classified as suicide. This points to the importance of mental health supports alongside addiction treatment, Ledlie says.
Meanwhile, researchers observed increasing overdose death rates among civic and government workers — including police officers, firefighters and members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
“Their pattern of substance use differs,” Ledlie said of these different occupations.
“It shows why a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t going to adequately support everyone across the different sectors.”
The study authors say workplace harm reduction strategies, better pain management, flexible addiction treatment and better housing and income security will all be needed to reduce job-related overdose deaths.
“A lot of these deaths occurred when people were at home, they were alone, they were unemployed,” said Ledlie.
“Policymakers [need to] continue to make sure people can access evidence-based treatment and harm reduction resources both where people work and where they live.”
