Opioid-related deaths in Alberta fell to the lowest level in four years in April, according to data released by the province’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction on Thursday. The new numbers cap off an encouraging start to 2024, silencing, for now, lingering criticisms of the province’s recovery-focused model for combatting addictions.

Across Alberta, there were 90 known opioid-related deaths in April, a nearly 30 per cent drop from March and more than 50 per cent drop from April 2023. This marked the first time since April 2020, just weeks into the COVID pandemic, that the monthly death count dropped below 100.