NEW What Canada is doing about the toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the largest single-year decline of life expectancy in Canada ever recorded, Statistics Canada said on Monday.
In 2020, life expectancy was 81.7 years, down 0.6 years from 82.3 years in 2019. It's the steepest decrease of life expectancy since national vital statistics started to be logged in 1921.
The largest declines in life expectancy were seen in Quebec, followed by Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia. The drop in life expectancy for men was also steeper than for women -- 0.7 years for males compared to 0.4 years for females.
A total of 16,151 Canadians died in 2020 due to COVID-19, making it the third leading cause of death that year. COVID-19 accounted for 5.3 per cent of all deaths in Canada, behind cancer and heart disease, which accounted for 26.4 per cent and 17.5 per cent of deaths, respectively.
COVID-19 wasn't the only factor that led to an increase in deaths. As pandemic-related stressors related to lockdowns, deaths and the fear of getting sick worsened the mental health of many Canadians, some turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism.
The mortality rate for those aged 25 to 39 was also the highest seen in 20 years, despite the fact that very few Canadians under 40 died due to COVID-19. StatCan says the increased mortality for younger age groups can be attributed to "notable increases" in deaths relating to substance use.
"The increase from 2019 to 2020 in the rate of deaths attributed to accidental poisonings was particularly acute for younger Canadians," StatCan said. The year 2020 saw 4,604 deaths due to accidental poisonings, including overdoses, compared to 3705 deaths reported in 2019.
For those under 45, alcohol-induced deaths hovered at around 360 from 2017 to 2019. But in in 2020, 542 Canadians in this age group died due to alcohol. For those aged 45 to 64, there were 1,946 alcohol-induced deaths in 2020 and 1,656 or fewer in the three years prior.
Mortality rates in lower-income neighbourhoods were also found to be much higher than elsewhere in the country, as the four leading causes of death were more common. People who lived in these neighbourhoods were 1.7 times as likely to die from COVID-19. The mortality rate for accidental injuries -- the fourth leading cause of death -- was also 1.9 times higher in these communities.
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.