Deaths from unknown causes up 475% in 3 years

Statistics Canada figures indicate that deaths from unknown causes rose 475% in Canada from 2019 to 2022. 

Deaths, 2022 | Statistics Canada:

November 27, 2023 - "There were 334,623 deaths in Canada in 2022, an increase of 7.3% from 2021. This increase was noted across all provinces and territories except Nunavut. The age-standardized mortality rate, which removes the effects of differences in the age structure of a population over time, also increased, from 907.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 2021 to 972.5 deaths in 2022. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the age-standardized mortality rate was 830.5 deaths....

"For the third year in a row, life expectancy at birth of Canadians fell, from 81.6 years in 2021 to 81.3 years in 2022. The decline in 2022 (-0.3 years) was greater than in 2021 (-0.1 years) and was half that observed from 2019 to 2020 (-0.6 years).... Changes in life expectancy at birth in Canada are due to a number of factors. Life expectancy increases when there are fewer deaths in general, or when deaths tend to occur at older ages, or a combination of both. Life expectancy declines when there are more deaths, when deaths occur at younger ages, or a combination of both."

Read more: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231127/dq231127b-eng.htm

Canadian pathologists stumped by explosive growth in deaths from unknown causes | Western Standard | Joseph Fournier: 

January 5, 2024 - "Statistics Canada has a talent for reporting deaths with numbing precision, but in such a way that makes it hard to know what’s really going on. Perhaps it’s just me but for example, if 16,043 people out of 334,623 are recorded as having died of unspecified ‘unknown causes,’ I’m sure they’re right. 

"But take a look at the chart below. That’s almost five times as many as in 2019. Yet in their list, StatsCan doesn’t even rank order it: That right hand column is my addition....

"Now, maybe there’s a perfectly rational explanation. But there’s none to be found in StatsCan’s breezy press release.... This is the elephant in the room.... 

"[D]oes this not demand closer scrutiny?... Here are things to look at.

• First, something is seriously dysfunctional with the Canadian Association of Pathologists (CAP) and their provincial counterparts. Death certificate protocols are of course a joint responsibility of CAP and provincial health services. But who is ultimately accountable for what goes on a death certificate? Our legislatures should be working on this.
• Second, relative to 2019, ‘Unknown Cause’ of death in 2022 grew by more than 475%, which stands out starkly among all categories in the data shown.
• The third matter is who it is, who’s doing the dying. This too merits some discussion.... 

"Here are Alberta statistics on the annual rate of occurrence of deaths defined as being caused by an unknown factor by Albertan Pathologists. The nearly 5,000% increase in the annual rate by which Albertan Pathologists were unable or unwilling to define a cause of death over the short period 2018 to 2021 is astounding.

"Likewise concerning is the fact this trend is seen to be occurring predominately in younger Albertans (0 to 64 years old.)  The bulk of the COVID deaths are among older people, 70+, so what is killing the younger ones? Unknown causes....

"The concentration of these Unknown Cause fatalities among younger Albertans is reminiscent of the health statistics shown in my Western Standard article titled "The 2020 lockdown and the rise of fatalities among young Canadians." That article highlighted the clear step-change from no trend to an increasing All Cause Mortality trend among healthy younger Canadians starting in 2020....

"Canadians must demand an answer as to why Canadian pathologists and our provincial health services have not acknowledged this explosion in Unknown Cause of death since 2020 — and why it is hurting people under 64 so badly."

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/opinion/fournier-canadian-pathologists-stumped-by-explosive-growth-in-deaths-from-unknown-causes/51468 

Excess deaths in Canada increased 75% in 2022

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms reports that excess deaths in Canada rose to an estimated 37,000 in 2022, a 75% increase from 2021. 

The rise of excess and unexplained deaths in Canada | Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (Abstract):

August 25, 2023 "[E]xcess deaths in Canada continue to be a significant problem in 2022 for all age groups.  Excess deaths in 2022 increased to an estimated 37,000 compared to an estimated 21,000 in 2021 – an approximate 75 percent increase.  Further, as of June 2023, 24 percent of 2022 deaths from all causes were still categorized as 'information unavailable' or were attributed to 'ill-defined or unknown cause.'  

"Canadian authorities cited excess deaths (when the cause was attributable to COVID-19) as justification for stringent pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Agencies such as Statistics Canada have provided little analysis of the causes of excess deaths occurring across Canada in 2022.  Data releases and reports of causes of deaths have been subject to significant and inexcusable reporting delays. Further, it appears that deaths attributed to COVID-19 may have been overreported."

Read more: https://www.jccf.ca/published_reports/the-rise-of-excess-and-unexplained-deaths-in-canada/ 

Executive Summary 

Canadians expect their governments to make data-informed public health decisions. Canadians should have access to the data underlying those decisions. Indeed, governments have a democratic obligation to make the scientific and evidentiary bases of their public health decisions transparent. Statistical agencies, such as Statistics Canada, play an important role in capturing, interpreting, and distributing that data.

The COVID-19 pandemic was described by many as an unprecedented epidemiological emergency. This claim arose from an analysis of (among other factors) excess deaths: more people were dying than had been anticipated, based on projections that considered past mortality statistics and reasonable adjustments (e.g., changing demographics). In August 2023, excess deaths continue to be a significant problem in Canada. More people are dying than statisticians had expected. And yet, excess deaths no longer occupy the attention of politicians, public health officials, media, or the broader Canadian public. Excess deaths appear to be “out of sight, out of mind.”

Deaths matter, whether they can be attributed to an epidemiological emergency or not, and deaths are particularly concerning when mortality rates are higher than expected. Canadian reporting agencies, politicians, and health authorities should care about any death, especially when those deaths are data points in a story of unexpected and unexplained mortality rates in Canada.

Excess deaths in Canada increased by an estimated 75 percent in 2022 over 2021. A reported 38,500 excess deaths occurred in 2022; 16,300 were attributed to COVID-19. Excess mortality rates are particularly high among Canadians aged 0-44 and 45-64.

The problem is more significant than excess deaths, however. With respect to causes of deaths, 24 percent of 2022 deaths (n=approximately 79,000) have been classified as  “information unavailable” or “ill-defined or unknown cause.”

Further, as of the end of June 2023, Statistics Canada has not released its annual tables on detailed causes of death for 2021. (Statistics Canada usually releases its annual report in the November following the year under review.) The causes of a significant number of deaths are not being explored by statistical agencies.

Democracies do not function without access to data. Citizens must have access to vital statistics if they are to be expected to trust and accept government interventions of the kind seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments, reporting bodies, and statistical agencies must begin to capture data about excess deaths and investigate their causes. 

Read full report here: https://www.jccf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-rise-of-excess-and-unexplained-deaths-in-Canada_Justice-Centre.pdf

Excess deaths in Canada | Dr. John Campbell | May 19, 2023: