There were 484 confirmed and suspected drug poisoning deaths in Saskatchewan in 2023.

The drug crisis in Canada appears to affect a wide range of users - newcomers - and it is not even known how serious the problem is.

Now, experts are calling not only for improved data collection, but also for more attention to the facts that drive newcomers to drug use, providing culturally specific care that can help them escape this phenomenon, and increasing cases among international students.

Truly Alive Youth and Family, an organization serving Indigenous, immigrant, and other diverse communities in Saskatoon, has seen a significant rise in drug use among newcomers, especially international students, according to Executive Director Anthony Olusola.

He said that international students sometimes arrive in Canada already traumatized, facing the anxiety of building a life here while trying to support their families.

He added: “It’s not just about their life here, but it is also worrying for their families in their home countries, and all this leads them to a place where they seek some refuge and ways to cope with it, and unfortunately, for coping mechanisms, drug use is what they are drawn to.”

Sultan Ali Al-Sadat, Director of Human Resources and Operations at the Saskatoon Open Door Society, said that young people who move here alone struggle to survive, many of whom are over 22 years old and unable to attend high school, or find that their previous education is not recognized by Canadian institutions, and some also have low levels of English."

He added that the expectation of many families when their children move to Canada is to see them standing successfully on their own feet, and at least helping the families who have returned home immediately," noting that these relatives may be in refugee camps or countries where jobs are scarce.

Al-Sadat, who is also the president of the Afghan Community Association in Saskatoon, said this pressure puts them in a position where they use some substances and then cannot get rid of them."

Al-Sadat explained that newcomers may turn to drugs for a number of reasons, from self-medication, to dealing with injuries they suffered in their home countries, to coping with trauma, to combating isolation.

He confirmed that many cultures have a significant stigma around mental health and are reluctant to talk about it.

He said: “If you have a sister, no one will marry her thinking that if you have a mental health problem, your sister’s children might also develop a mental illness.
Also,” he added, “community shame” is common.