Causes of death
Infant mortality and fetal deaths (stillbirths)
Life expectancy
Mortality and death rates
Survival rates
Other content related to Life expectancy and deathsWhat is excess mortality in Canada?
Excess mortality is observed when there are more deaths during a period of time than what would be expected for that period. There is evidence of excess mortality when weekly deaths are consistently higher than the expected number, but especially when they exceed the range of what would be expected over consecutive weeks.
What are provisional deaths in Canada?
Provisional deaths are not based on all deaths that are observed during a specific reference period because of reporting delays. Provisional death counts are based on what is reported to Statistics Canada by provincial and territorial vital statistics registries.
Provisional death estimates have been adjusted to account for incomplete data. As a result, the provisional death counts and estimates released may not match figures from other sources, such as media reports, or counts and estimates from provincial and territorial health authorities and other agencies.
Visualizing mortality in Canada
Explore the cause of death trends in Canada since 2000 with these interactive dashboards. Metrics visualized on the dashboards are: number of deaths, death rate per 100,000 people, and the proportion of deaths represented by each selected cause of death.
Rates and counts by age group for select causes of death
Cause of death trends in Canada broken down by several age groups between 0 to 90 years of age and by sex.
Rates and counts by sex and province or territory for select causes of death
Cause of death trends in Canada broken down by province or territories and by sex.
Focus on COVID-19
Learn more about provisional deaths and excess mortality:
Our partners
Our partners
- Vital Statistics Council for Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- British Columbia Coroner's Service
- Alberta Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
- Saskatchewan Coroners Service
- Manitoba Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
- Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario
- Office of the Coroner Government of Québec (only available in French)
- New Brunswick Coroner Services
- Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Nova Scotia
- Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island Coroner
- Office of the Chief Coroner Government of Nunavut
- Northwest Territories Coroner's Service
- Yukon Coroner's Service
Data sources
Data sources
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Death certification and classification
Death certification and classification
COVID-19 comorbidities in Canada
COVID-19 comorbidities in Canada
The Daily articles
The Daily articles
In the news
- The Daily — Provisional death counts and excess mortality, January 2020 to July 2021
Release date: 2021-10-14 - All-terrain vehicle fatalities in Canada, 2013 to 2019
Release date: 2021-06-07 - Association of frailty and pre-frailty with increased risk of mortality among older Canadians
Release date: 2021-04-21 - The Daily — Deaths, 2019
Release date: 2020-11-26
Explore the mortality dashboard
The new Provisional deaths and excess mortality in Canada dashboard presents data that are relevant for monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 on mortality in Canada. Excess mortality occurs when there are more deaths during a period of time than would be expected for that period. The number of excess deaths is measured as the difference between the number of observed deaths and the number of expected deaths over a certain period of time. The Canadian Vital Statistics Death (CVS-D) database is the authoritative source for cause of death data in Canada. The CVS-D is an administrative survey that collects demographic and medical information from all provincial and territorial vital statistics registries on all deaths in Canada. With the dashboard, data users can explore trends in excess mortality. It allow users to examine excess deaths by comparing the adjusted estimates of weekly deaths to the expected number of weekly death counts.