Health Fact Sheets
Trends in mortality rates, 2000 to 2013 Health Fact Sheets
Trends in mortality rates, 2000 to 2013

Start of text box

The age-standardized mortality rates show the number of deaths per 100,000 population that would have occurred in a given area if the age structure of the population of that area was the same as the age structure of a specified standard population. The mortality rates are calculated to eliminate the impact of population structure changes on death rates. Thus, the comparisons of these mortality rates reflect the actual changes in mortality. The 2011 Canadian population is used as the standard population in this fact sheet.

End of text box

For the period 2000 to 2013, the age-standardized mortality rate for all causes combined declined 20.4%, from 862.5 deaths per 100,000 population to 686.2 (Chart 1).

Age-standardized mortality rates for all causes of death declined for males by 23.4% (from 1,083.1 to 829.6) from 2000 to 2013, while rates for females declined by 18.2% (from 703.7 to 575.6).

Data table for Chart 1

Age-standardized mortality rates,^{Data table Note 1} by sex, Canada, 2000 to 2013
Table summary
This table displays the results of Age-standardized mortality rates 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, calculated using per 100,000 standard population units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
	per 100,000 standard population
All causes of death	862.5	842.6	841.3	825.6	805.0	792.5	760.2	759.7	748.6	725.2	706.0	693.3	693.7	686.2
Males	1,083.1	1,054.2	1,047.0	1,026.2	993.7	974.3	933.1	930.1	916.0	883.1	853.7	834.5	843.4	829.6
Females	703.7	689.4	693.9	680.0	666.4	658.1	631.6	631.3	623.0	604.8	591.3	582.2	580.3	575.6
Note 1. Age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 standard population. Return to note 1 referrer Source: Vital Statistics - Death Database, CANSIM Table 102-0564.

Age-standardized mortality rates for leading causes of death declined

Over the period 2000 to 2013, age-standardized mortality rates showed general decline for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death. The standardized rates for stroke (cerebrovascular disease) and heart disease showed the largest decreases, a 43.3% decline (63.7 to 36.1) and a 39.5% decline (222.7 to 134.8) respectively. The mortality rates for accidents (unintentional injuries) and suicide (intentional self-harm) remained relatively stable over the observed period. Cancer, the first leading cause of death, saw its rate go down by 15.5%, from 243.2 per 100,000 standard population in 2000 to 205.5 in 2013 (Chart 2).

From 2000 to 2013, the decline in the age-standardized mortality rate for cancer was more pronounced for males (19.7%), from 306.5 to 246.2, compared with the decline for females (11.9%), from 201.3 to 177.3.  Meanwhile, the standardized rates for heart disease dropped 39.9% for males (293.1 to 176.2) and 40.3% for females (170.9 to 102.0).

Data table for Chart 2

Age-standardized mortality rates^{Data table Note 1} for the 10 leading causes of death, Canada, 2000 and 2013
Table summary
This table displays the results of Age-standardized mortality rates for the 10 leading causes of death 2000 and 2013, calculated using mortality rates per 100,000 standard population
units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	2000	2013
	mortality rates per 100,000 standard population
Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	243.2	205.5
Diseases of heart (heart disease)	222.7	134.8
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)	63.7	36.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38.9	32.5
Accidents (unintentional injuries)	31.3	31.6
Diabetes mellitus (diabetes)	26.5	19.2
Influenza and pneumonia	20.9	17.5
Alzheimer's disease	21.1	17
Intentional self-harm (suicide)	11.9	11.5
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease)	12.6	8
Note 1. Age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 standard population. Return to note 1 referrer Note: The order of the causes of death in this table is based on the ranking of the 10 leading causes of death in 2013. Source: Vital Statistics - Death Database, CANSIM Table 102-0564.

Trends of age-standardized mortality rates varied in provinces and territories

From 2000 to 2013, Ontario and British Columbia had age-standardized mortality rates lower than the Canada-level rate. By 2013, there were 659.8 deaths per 100,000 standard population in Ontario and 649.6 per 100,000 standard population in British Columbia compared with 686.2 deaths per 100,000 standard population for Canada. The rates for Quebec and Alberta have fluctuated around the national level while the other provinces and the three territories had higher mortality rates than the national average (Chart 3).

Data table for Chart 3

Age-standardized mortality rates^{Data table Note 1} for all causes of death, Canada, provinces and territories, 2000 and 2013
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3. The information is grouped by Place of residence (appearing as row headers), 2000 and 2013, calculated using mortality rates per 100,000 standard population
units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Place of residence	2000	2013
	mortality rates per 100,000 standard population
British Columbia	780.9	649.6
Ontario	860.8	659.8
Quebec	874.8	680.1
Canada	862.5	686.2
Alberta	843.5	709.3
New Brunswick	917.8	746.9
Manitoba	928.9	764.1
Prince Edward Island	983.6	775.7
Saskatchewan	874.1	779.4
Nova Scotia	928.7	796.9
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,041.6	873.5
Yukon	1,114.0	884.4
Northwest Territories	1,111.8	945.1
Nunavut	1,505.0	1,590.3
Note 1. Age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 standard population. Return to note 1 referrer Source: Vital Statistics - Death Database, CANSIM Table 102-0564.

Since 2008, cancer has been the leading cause of death in all provinces and territories, with the exception of Nunavut, where, in 2013, suicide surpassed cancer to rank first. In the provinces, the age-standardized mortality rates for the top three leading causes of death (cancer, heart disease and stroke) decreased over the period of observation, with heart disease and stroke decreasing at a more rapid pace than cancer.