Premature and potentially avoidable mortality in Canada, provinces and territories, 2020 to 2023

In 2023, just under one-quarter (or 80,050) of the 326,215 deaths in Canada were potentially avoidable.

Cancers, diseases of the circulatory system and drug overdoses remain the leading causes of avoidable deaths. Together, they accounted for close to two-thirds of all avoidable deaths in 2023.

While deaths caused by cancer have declined and those caused by circulatory system diseases have remained stable, deaths caused by drug overdoses have increased from 2020 to 2023. Drug overdoses represented 9.6% of all avoidable deaths in 2023, up from 8.6% in 2020. Among males, the share was even higher, with drug overdoses responsible for 11.1% of all avoidable deaths in 2023.

Avoidable deaths are those that occur among people under the age of 75 years and result from causes that are considered preventable with changes in lifestyle or behaviours, or treatable given access to proper health care. For example, the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents can be lowered through policies and programs, such as road safety legislation, vehicle safety regulations and public awareness campaigns, while epilepsy deaths can be reduced through effective treatment.

Although Canada experienced a temporary rise in the age-standardized avoidable mortality rate from 2019 to 2021, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall trend has been downward since the early 1980s (see Premature and potentially avoidable mortality), when the rates were above 400 deaths per 100,000 population. In 2023, the rate stood at 219.6 deaths per 100,000 population (Table 1). However, this figure is based on preliminary data and may be revised upward once the final data become available.

The territories have the highest avoidable mortality rate in Canada, while Nova Scotia and Quebec have the lowest

Provincially, age-standardized avoidable mortality rates ranged from 200.5 deaths per 100,000 population in Quebec to 286.9 deaths per 100,000 population in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023. The rate in the territories was much higher at 305.1 deaths per 100,000 population (Table 1).

In Newfoundland and Labrador, age-standardized avoidable mortality rates increased by 21.6 deaths per 100,000 population from 2020 to 2023. During the same period, rates increased by 4.8 deaths per 100,000 population in British Columbia and 3.4 deaths per 100,000 population in New Brunswick, while they decreased across six provinces and the territories. Avoidable mortality rates in Prince Edward Island were essentially unchanged.

In 2023, as in earlier decades, males (274.6 deaths per 100,000 population) in Canada had a higher age-standardized avoidable mortality rate than females (166.4 deaths per 100,000 population) (Table 2). Males were more likely to die than females from diseases of the circulatory system, such as ischemic heart disease; drug overdose; intentional injuries, such as suicides; unintentional injuries; and alcohol and drug use disorders. In 2023, the largest disparities in avoidable mortality rates between females and males were in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, while the territories had the smallest such difference.

Cancers, diseases of the circulatory system and drug overdoses continue to be the leading causes of avoidable deaths

In 2023, nearly one-third (31.4%) of avoidable deaths were attributed to cancers. The number of deaths caused by cancer decreased from 25,505 in 2020 to 25,115 deaths in 2023 (Table 3).

Close to one-quarter (23.3%) of avoidable deaths were caused by diseases of the circulatory system, remaining nearly unchanged from 18,635 in 2020 to 18,625 deaths in 2023.

Nearly 10% of avoidable deaths in 2023 (7,650 deaths) were caused by drug overdoses, up from 7,040 deaths in 2020.

Drug overdose deaths are more common among males and are responsible for more than 1 in 10 avoidable deaths among males

In 2023, there were 5,455 drug overdose deaths among males and 2,200 among females. As such, drug overdose deaths among males comprised nearly three-quarters (71.3%) of all fatal drug overdoses. Drug overdoses accounted for 11.1% of avoidable deaths among males, compared with 7.1% among females in 2023.

Table 1: Age-standardized avoidable mortality rates, Canada, provinces and the territories, 2020 to 2023 

Table 2: Age-standardized avoidable mortality rates, by sex, Canada, provinces and the territories, 2020 to 2023

Table 3: Number of deaths and age-standardized rates by grouped causes of avoidable mortality, Canada, 2020 to 2023