Highlights

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Life expectancy ¹ 

1. Life expectancy at birth in Canada reached 80.7 years for the three-year period of 2005/2007—78.3 years for males and 83.0 years for females.

1. In 2005/2007, with 81.2 years British Columbia had the highest life expectancy at birth in Canada followed by Ontario, 81.0 years, and Quebec, 80.7 years. The lowest life expectancy was in the three territories combined, 75.8 years.

1. During the period from 1995/1997 to 2005/2007, life expectancy at birth gained 2.3 years. Gains in life expectancy at birth were stronger among men. Their life expectancy at birth rose by 2.9 years while among women it increased by 1.8 years. As a result, the life expectancy at birth gap between males and females narrowed by 1.1 years, from 5.8 years in 1995/1997 to 4.7 years in 2005/2007.

1. Life expectancy at age 65, reached 19.8 years in 2005/2007, a gain of 1.6 years from 1995/1997. The increase in life expectancy at age 65 for men (2.0 years) surpassed that of women (1.3 years). As a result, the male–female gap in life expectancy at age 65 was reduced by 0.7 year during this period.

1. The increase in life expectancy at age 65 accounted for 70% of the total increase in life expectancy at birth.

1. In 2005/2007, life expectancy at age 65 was highest in British Columbia, 20.4 years, followed by Alberta, 20.0 years, Ontario, 19.9 years, and Quebec, 19.8 years. The lowest life expectancy at age 65 was in the three territories combined, 16.9 years.

Annual number of deaths

1. The number of deaths registered in Canada in 2007 recorded its largest increase since 1993, continuing an upward trend resulting from a growing and aging population.

1. In 2007, 235,217 people died in Canada, up 7,138 or 3.1% from 2006. Both male and female deaths rose, but the increase was slightly faster among women, 3.2% compared with 3.1% for men.

1. The annual number of deaths increased in 2007 in most provinces and territories. The number declined in Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories, and remained unchanged in Nunavut.

1. The two largest provinces—Ontario and Quebec—accounted for almost three-quarters (71%) of the total increase in deaths in 2007.

1. Provincially, the largest increase in deaths occurred in New Brunswick (5.2%) and Quebec (4.2%). Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador had the smallest increases.

Crude and standardized death rates

1. The crude death rate in Canada rose from 7.0 deaths per 1,000 population in 2006 to 7.1 in 2007. However, when differences in age structure of the population were taken into account, the age-standardized death rate remained unchanged.

1. In 2007, Nunavut had the highest standardized death rate in Canada, followed by the other two territories.

1. In 2007, the lowest standardized rate was registered in British Columbia, followed by Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

Infant mortality

1. The number of infant deaths rose 6.2%, from 1,771 in 2006 to 1,881 in 2007. The number of male infant deaths increased 6.1%, from 983 to 1,043; the number of female infant deaths was up 6.4%, from 788 to 838.

1. From 2006 to 2007, the infant mortality rate increased from 5.0 to 5.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Among boys, the infant rate rose from 5.4 to 5.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births while the infant rate of girls increased from 4.6 to 4.7.