Life expectancy in Canada nearly back to pre-pandemic levels: StatCan – National

Life expectancy for the average Canadian is nearly back at pre-pandemic levels, Statistics Canada says.

Life expectancy at birth in Canada increased for the second consecutive year in 2024, the agency said, from 81.68 years in 2023 to 82.16 years in 2024, representing a gain of 0.48 years.

This is nearly on par with pre-pandemic life expectancy levels in 2019, which was 82.22 years. While women are living longer than men, at 84.29 years on average, men saw a higher increase in life expectancy.

Men now live 80.30 years on average, an increase of 0.55 years compared to 2023.

Western Canada saw the highest increases in life expectancy at birth from 2023 to 2024. Saskatchewan saw life expectancy increase by 0.68 years, Alberta by 0.82 years and British Columbia  by 0.62 years.

In British Columbia, life expectancy for women (85.07 years) in 2024 surpassed the 2019 pre-pandemic level (84.96 years).

Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada, accounting for more than one in four (26.2 per cent) deaths in the country.

Heart disease, which was the leading cause of death until the early 1990s when it was replaced by cancer, was the second most common cause of death in Canada, accounting for 17.7 per cent of all deaths.

Accidents (6.2 per cent), stroke (4.2 per cent), chronic lower respiratory disease (four per cent), influenza and pneumonia (2.3 per cent), diabetes (2.1 per cent), COVID-19 (1.5 per cent) and liver disease (1.4 per cent) were some of the other more common causes of death in Canada.

The number of deaths attributed to influenza and pneumonia increased by 20 per cent from 2023 to 2024, moving it from the eighth leading cause of death in 2023 to the sixth in 2024, StatCan said.

Dementia deaths also increased during this period, rising by 4.8 per cent and accounting for 27,825 deaths.

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