The life expectancy of Canadians has fallen again
This figure has declined for three consecutive years.
Statistics Canada has analyzed the life expectancy and causes of death of Canadians in 2022 — and compared it to previous figures. While the numbers are impressive in a good way compared to much of the world (Canada is still in the top 20 long-livers), the trend is more of a negative one: for the third year in a row, the life expectancy of the average Canadian has declined.
A total of 334,623 people died in Canada during 2022, an increase of 7.3% over 2021. The increase was seen in all provinces and territories in the country except Nunavut. The average life expectancy of Canadians, however, fell to 81.3 years — that is down a full year from the pre-pandemic figure of 82.3 years in 2021.
What are Canadians dying of?
The fall in life expectancy is due to a number of factors. One is an increase in the number of deaths among young people. In 2022, the increase in youth deaths in Canada is associated with cases investigated by police and medical examiners. These are typically unintentional injuries (e.g., deaths from substance-related poisoning), suicides and homicides.
COVID-19 also played an important role. Deaths from it rose in 2022 to the highest since the start of the pandemic, reaching 19,716. Sociologists attribute this to the removal of covid restrictions and the return of people to normal social life. As a result, older Canadians have become more likely to die from covid: deaths among people aged 65 and older have increased, approaching the level of the beginning of the pandemic. At the same time, Canadians younger than 65 began to die from the virus much less often — they accounted for only 8.6% of deaths, that is, 91.4% of covid deaths over 65 years of age.
COVID-19 by province
In 2022, COVID-19 mortality rates increased in all regions of Canada except the so-called Prairie provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
Atlantic Canada showed the greatest increase in mortality due to it. Here sociologists noted 59.5 deaths per 100,000 population, that is 7 times higher than in 2021 (8.3 deaths per 100,000 population).
Deaths from the virus in Central Canada (Quebec and Ontario) increased by 38.3% and in Western Canada (British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) by 29.6%.
COVID-19 ended up being the third leading cause of death in Canada for the year. What were the first two?
The most common causes of death
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Cancer and heart disease remained the two leading causes of death in Canada, accounting for 41.8% of deaths in 2022. In 2021, this share was higher at 44.3%.
Also in the top 10 were accidents, strokes, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, Alzheimer's disease, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Together, these 10 causes accounted for more than 68% of all deaths for the year.
