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Nov 28, 2023 4:51 PM - The Canadian Press
A new report from Statistics Canada says life expectancy for the average Canadian at birth has fallen for three straight years, from 82.3 years in 2019 to 81.3 in 2022.
The report on deaths shows New Brunswick saw the biggest decline in life expectancy in 2022, dropping to 79.8 years from 80.9 in 2021. Saskatchewan's life expectancy has fallen the most over the past three years combined, dropping a full two years to 78.5 in 2022 from 80.5 in 2019.
Cancer and heart disease were the leading causes of death, accounting for 41.8 per cent of all deaths in 2022, while COVID-19 caused about six per cent of deaths. More than 19,700 Canadians died of COVID-19 last year, the highest number since the pandemic began in 2020.
The report shows the rate of COVID-19 deaths in Atlantic Canada was more than seven times higher last year compared with the year before.
