Changes in the health of Canadians and access to health care

Release date: March 5, 2025
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Infographic: Changes in the health of Canadians and access to health care
Description: Changes in the health of Canadians and access to health care

In 2023, life expectancy in Canada increased for the first time in three years

Table 1
Table summary
The information is grouped by Sex (appearing as row headers), 2023, Years, 2021 and 2022, calculated using units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Sex 2021 2022 2023
Years
Both sexes 81.6 81.3 81.7
Male 79.2 79.1 79.5
Female 84 83.5 83.9

After remaining unchanged from 2015 to 2020, the proportion of Canadian adults who said they have very good or excellent health declined from 2021 to 2023, especially in the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia

Proportion of Canadians who reported having very good or excellent health, Canada and provinces, 2021 and 2023 Table summary
The information is grouped by Geography (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Geography 2021 2023
Canada 58.8% 52.2%
N.L. 59.4% 48.7%
P.E.I. 55.3% 44.9%
N.S. 57.6% 46.7%
N.B. 51.3% 41.9%
Que. 60.2% 55.7%
Ont. 58.7% 51.5%
Man. 57.9% 52.5%
Sask. 56.5% 50.7%
Alta. 59.3% 54.4%
B.C. 58.4% 49.7%
Proportion of Canadians who reported having very good or excellent health, territories, 2022 Table summary
The information is grouped by Geography (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Geography 2022
Y.T. 51.1%
N.W.T. 45.6%
Nvt. 45.5%

The proportion of Canadians with a regular health care provider fell in all age groups, except those 65 and over, and remained lowest among young adults

Table 4
Table summary
The information is grouped by Age group (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Age group 2022 2023
Total – 18 years and over 85.8% 82.8%
18 to 34 years 77.2% 73.6%
35 to 49 years 85.3% 81.3%
50 to 64 years 89.3% 86.0%
65 years and over 92.8% 92.0%

The proportion of Canadians who reported having unmet health care needs rose from 2021 to 2022

Table 5
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 5 , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
  2021 2022
Canada 7.9% 9.2%

Note: Data on life expectancy at birth are from the Canadian Vital Statistics – Death Database and include the provinces and territories. Data on perceived health and regular health care providers come from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and data on unmet health care needs from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS). National estimates from the CCHS and CIS do not cover the territories.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2025, “Health of Canadians, 2024,” Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-570-X.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2025

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

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