Highlights
Archived Content
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Number of deaths
- In 2009, 238,418 people died in Canada. Of these, 120,311 were men and 118,107 were women, down 0.1% from 2008 for both sexes.
Life expectancy at birth and at age 65
- Life expectancy at birth in Canada reached 81.1 years for the three-year period of 2007/2009, up 0.2 years from 2006/2008. Life expectancy at birth for men was 78.8 years for males and 83.3 years for females.
- Women are living longer, but men continue to catch up. The gender gap in life expectancy at birth narrowed in the past ten years from 5.5 years in 1997/1999 to 4.5 years in 2007/2009.
- Life expectancy at birth was highest in British Columbia (81.7 years), followed by Ontario and Quebec. It was lowest in the three territories combined at 75.1, which is 6.0 years below the national average.
- Life expectancy for seniors has also been on an upward trend over the last ten years. A senior in Canada at age 65 could expect to live an additional 20.2 years in 2007/2009, up 1.9 years from 1997/1999.
- In 2007/2009, life expectancy at age 65 for both men and women was highest in British Columbia, followed by Ontario. Again, it was the lowest in the three territories.
Standardized mortality rates
- When differences in age structure of the population were taken into account, the age-standardized mortality rate showed a decrease from 5.3 deaths per 1,000 population in 2008 to 5.2 in 2009.
- British Columbia recorded the lowest age-standardized mortality rate in the country (4.8 deaths per 1,000 population). The highest rates were in Nunavut (11.7), Yukon (7.5) and the Northwest Territories (7.0).
Infant mortality
- The number of infant deaths decreased 2.0%, from 1,911 in 2008 to 1,872 in 2009. The number of male infant deaths decreased 6.1%, while the number of female infant deaths was up 2.9%.
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