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.