COVID-19 causes largest decline in life expectancy in Canada since 1921

Memorial placed by family members in front of Camilla Care Community Centre in honour of the residents who died due to COVID-19. (Aleksandar Tupanceski/Shutterstock)

The COVID-19 pandemic stimulated the largest decline in life expectancy in Canada since national vital statistics started to be collected in 1921, according to Statistics Canada.

In a report released on Monday, the federal agency says national life expectancy was 81.7 years for those born in 2020. That’s a decline of over half a year compared to 2019, where life expectancy was at 82.3 years.

The decline was greater for men (0.7 years) than for women (0.4 years). Provincially, the largest drops were seen in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC.

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“In Canada, as in most other countries around the world, life expectancy tends to increase over time,” explained StatsCan in the report.”The decline observed from 2019 to 2020 is primarily linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, which started to hit the country in 2020.”

When the pandemic began in 2020, the agency says there were 307,205 deaths in Canada, an increase of 21,935 deaths compared to 2019.

COVID-19 became the third leading cause of death, with 16,151 deaths attributed directly to the disease in 2020. StatsCan adds that the pandemic may have also had indirect effects that increased or decreased the number of other deaths across the country.

However, despite this decline, Canada’s life expectancy remained the highest in the world, says StatsCan.

“Some countries such as Spain, Italy or the United States have seen a greater impact on life expectancy from the pandemic, with declines in life expectancy at birth of the order of -1.5 years,” StatsCan reported.

The pandemic’s indirect consequences leading to an increase in deaths include factors like delayed medical procedures or a rise in substance abuse.

National life expectancy is estimated on an annual basis.