Which province has the highest life expectancy?

From 2022 to 2023, life expectancy at birth in Canada increased from 81.29 to 81.7 years, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan). This marks the first increase since life expectancy peaked at 82.23 years in 2019. It had declined in consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the provinces, Quebec had the highest life expectancy in 2023 at 82.55 years, followed by Ontario (82.33 years) and British Columbia (81.95 years). All three exceeded the national average. In contrast, Manitoba (79.1 years), Newfoundland and Labrador (79.11 years), and Saskatchewan (78.99 years) had the lowest life expectancy.

Life expectancy has risen in all provinces between 1980 and 2023, though at different rates. Quebec saw the greatest improvement, increasing by 8.13 years, while Saskatchewan had the smallest gain at 3.14 years.

British Columbia became the first province to surpass an 80-year life expectancy in 2000. Today, six provinces have life expectancies of at least 80 years, with two exceeding 82 years.

Females tend to live longer than males across all regions of Canada

Across Canada, females tend to live longer than males. In 2023, the average life expectancy for females was 83.89 years, compared to 79.51 years for males. Among the provinces, females had the highest life expectancy in British Columbia (84.71 years) and the lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador (81.13 years). For males, life expectancy was highest in Quebec (80.77 years) and lowest in Saskatchewan (76.7 years).

The gap in life expectancy between males and females has narrowed over time. In 1980, females lived 7.2 years longer than males on average, but by 2023, this difference had decreased to 4.38 years. Among provinces, British Columbia had the largest gap in 2023, with females living 5.4 years longer than males, while Ontario had the smallest gap at 3.53 years.

From 1980 to 2023, Quebec saw the greatest improvement in female life expectancy, with an increase of 5.95 years, while Saskatchewan’s remained largely unchanged. Quebec also experienced the largest gain in male life expectancy, rising by 10.07 years, whereas Saskatchewan had the smallest increase at 4.24 years.

How does the federal government define life expectancy?

Statistics Canada defines life expectancy as “the number of years a person would be expected to live from the day he or she was born (for life expectancy at birth) or at ages 65 to 69 (for life expectancy at ages 65 to 69), based on mortality statistics at the time.”

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