The federal agency announces on Monday that there were 307,205 deaths in Canada in 2020, the year in which the pandemic began, up 21,935 or 7.7% from the 285,270 deaths recorded in 2019 .
COVID-19 has ranked as the third leading cause of death. In 2020, the coronavirus accounted for 5.3% of all deaths in Canada, behind cancer at 26.4% and heart disease at 17.5%.
16,151 Canadians died directly from COVID-19 in 2020.
Life expectancy fell by more than six months in 2020, to 81.7 years, the largest annual decline in Canada in nearly a century. The largest decreases were observed in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and, with the exception of Quebec, the decrease was generally greater among men than among women.
The overall decrease in life expectancy in Canada has coincided with an increase in mortality rates in most age groups.
In addition, Statistics Canada notes that beyond deaths directly attributable to COVID-19 itself, some indirect impacts of the pandemic may have increased the number of deaths attributable to various factors in 2020.
Thus, Canada saw notable increases in the number of deaths associated with alcohol or drug use in 2020. That year, 4,604 deaths from accidental poisonings, including overdoses, were recorded.
