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Highlights

Number of deaths and age-standardized mortality rates, 1979 to 2004

1. From 1979 to 2004, the annual number of male deaths rose slightly, from 96,532 to 114,513. Since 2000, the number of male deaths appears to be levelling off (Chart  1 ).
2. During the same 25-year period, the annual number of female deaths rose sharply, from 71,651 to 112,071 female deaths in 2004.
3. In 2004, the age-standardized mortality rate in Canada was 572 deaths per 100,000 population, down 2.6% from 587 in 2003.
4. From 1979 to 2004, males’ age-standardized mortality rate dropped 34%, from 1,083  to  710 per 100,000 population.
5. From 1979 to 2004, females’ age-standardized mortality rate went down 27%, from  627  to  466  per  100,000 population.
6. The gap between male and female age-standardized rates decreased by almost half over the 25-year period, from 456 to 244 deaths per 100,000 (Chart  2 ).

Trends for two main causes of death, 1979 to 2004

1. From 1979 to 2004, the number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases fell sharply, while deaths due to cancer rose.  The shares of deaths due to these diseases converged at around 30% in 2004 (Chart 3  ).
2. The impact of these opposing trends is that the share of deaths due to cancer may soon catch up with, and eventually surpass, the share of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.
3. From 1979 to 2004, the sex ratio for deaths due to cardiovascular diseases decreased sharply, from 125 to 101 males per 100 females. During the same period, the sex ratio for deaths due to cancer declined gradually, from 126 to 111 males per 100 females (Chart  4 ).
4. The narrowing of the gap between the number of overall male deaths and overall female deaths seen in Chart 1 may be partially explained by the narrowing of the gap between the number of deaths for each sex due to the two main causes of death: cardiovascular diseases and cancer (Chart 2 , 3  and 4 ).

Cardiovascular diseases and cancer deaths, 2000 to 2004

1. From 2000 to 2004, more females than males died of cardiovascular diseases: 2,297, or 1%, of excess female deaths.
2. More males than females were killed by cancer from 2000 to 2004 - 18,824, or 12%, of excess male deaths.
3. From 2000 to 2004, the age-standardized mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases and cancer have converged at around 175 per 100,000 population, mainly the result of a sharp drop in the age-standardized mortality rate for cardiovascular diseases.
4. In 2000, both males and females had higher age-standardized mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases than for cancer; however, in 2003 and 2004, female rates for cancer were higher than those for cardiovascular diseases.
5. In 2004, male age-standardized mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases were 62% higher than female rates (unchanged from 2000).
6. In 2004, male age-standardized mortality rates for cancer were 44% higher than female rates, a decline in the 51% gap between the sexes posted in 2000.

Two main causes of cancer deaths, 2000 to 2004

1. From 2000 to 2004, the cumulative five-year annual number of deaths due to the two main groups of cancers -- cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung; and cancer of colon, rectum and anus -- was 119,475, comprising 37% of all deaths due to cancer.
2. During the same period, the cumulative deaths due to the main group of cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung were 84,921, comprising 26% of all deaths due to cancer. Meanwhile, the second main cause of deaths, represented by 34,554 deaths, due to cancer of colon, rectum and anus, comprising 11% of all deaths due to cancer.
3. From 2000 to 2004, female deaths due to cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung rose three times faster than male deaths: 16% vs. 5%; while female deaths due to cancer of colon, rectum and anus increased slightly more than male deaths (11% and 9% respectively).
4. During the same period, the sex ratio of annual number of deaths due to cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung declined from 149 to 135 males per 100 females – an indication of the narrowing gap between the sexes.
5. In 2000, male age-standardized mortality rates for cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung were 87% higher than female rates; by 2004 this gap had dropped to 67%.

Selected cancer deaths by sex, 2000 to 2004

1. From 2000 to 2004, 50.7% of male cancer deaths were due to the following three main groups of cancers: of trachea, bronchus and lungs; of colon, rectum and anus; and of prostate.
2. Male deaths due to these three groups of cancer were concentrated in the cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung.
3. During the same period, 49.6% of female cancer deaths were due to the following three main groups of cancers: of trachea, bronchus and lungs; of breast; and of colon, rectum and anus.
4. Female deaths due to these three groups of cancer were more evenly distributed among cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung, and cancer of breast.
5. Recent trends indicate that female deaths due to cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung, are rising to the level of male deaths.
6. Recent trends in age-standardized mortality rates for cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung show a rising trend among females and a descending trend among males.
7. Age-standardized mortality rates for male prostate cancer and for female breast cancer decreased in recent years. However, the drop was sharper for the male prostate cancer compared to the female breast cancer.