The dashboard will be used as part of the federal Health minister's annual reporting on the health of people in Canada. It shows that despite life spans trending upward for most of the last century, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the largest annual drop (0.4 years) in Canadian life expectancy on record. The average life expectancy as of 2020 was around 82, with women averaging 84 years and men 80. However, the health-adjusted life expectancy - a measure of how many healthy years we have left - averages just 69.7. While Ottawa blames the dip on the pandemic, it says it was fed by other trends like:
- Low levels of childhood vaccine uptake;
- A rise in infectious diseases; and
- An all-time-high numbers of opioid-related deaths.
The pandemic was the third leading cause of death in Canada in 2020, just behind cancer and heart disease.
Related:
Message de l'ASPC du Canada - État de santé des personnes au Canada - Agence de la santé publique du Canada