Leading causes of death, total population, by age group^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics - Death database (CVSD) and population estimates

Death refers to the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after a live birth has taken place. Stillbirths are excluded.

The following standard symbols are used in this Statistics Canada table: (..) for figures not available for a specific reference period, (...) for figures not applicable and (x) for figures suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act.

The totals (all causes of death) by age group and/ or sex presented in this table may not reflect those given in tables 13-10-0707-01 to 13-10-0716-01, 13-10-0368-01 due to the correction of age or sex information that was inconsistent with the underlying cause of death.

During the production of each year's birth/death/stillbirth statistics, data from previous years may be revised to reflect any updates or changes that have been received from the provincial and territorial vital statistics registrars.

Starting with the 2013 reference year, information regarding new and terminated cause of death codes, as well as any changes to the cause of death descriptions, are available upon request; please contact Statistics Canada's Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@Canada.ca).

Starting with the 2013 reference year, a new automated coding system was used to select the underlying cause of death. In 2017, an updated version of this coding system was implemented. For more information or to obtain documentation regarding the impact of these changes, please contact Statistics Canada's Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@Canada.ca).

Due to improvements in methodology and timeliness, the duration of data collection has been shortened compared to previous years. As a result, there may have been fewer deaths captured by the time of the release. The 2023 data is considered preliminary.

As a result of delays with death registrations, fewer deaths have been captured for Nova Scotia in 2023.

Age attained at the last birthday preceding death.

For data year 2000 to 2009, missing data on sex of the deceased were imputed based on death registration number. Starting with 2010 data year, missing data on sex of the deceased were imputed based on the cause of death information and a logistic regression.

The category "Age at time of death, all ages" includes the number of deaths for children aged under one year old.

The deaths for which age is not stated are included in the "Age at the time of death, all ages" category but not distributed among age groups.

The geographic distribution of deaths in this table is based on the deceased's usual place of residence.

Counts in this table exclude deaths of non-residents of Canada.

The cause of death tabulated is the underlying cause of death. This is defined as (a) the disease or injury which initiated the train of events leading directly to death, or (b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury. The underlying cause is selected from the conditions listed on the medical certificate of cause of death.

World Health Organization (WHO), International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10).

The list for ranking leading causes of death that is used in this table is based on the list that was developed and that is been used by the National Center for Health Statistics of the United States in their annual report on leading causes of death.

"Other causes of death" is a residual category, which includes all causes of death that are not part of the 50 leading causes of death list.

The ranking of the leading causes of death is based on the number of deaths.