Canadians living longer, StatsCan reports

(CBC) - Life expectancy for women and men hit a record high in 2003 and the number of deaths increased as well, Statistics Canada said in a report Wednesday.

Statistics Canada says the country's population also grew by one per cent in 2003.

For women, life expectancy at birth was up 0.3 years, reaching a record high of 82.4 years.

Men were also living longer, Statistics Canada says. Their life expectancy at birth was 77.4 years, an increase of 0.2 years.

Considered together, the gap between male and female life expectancy widened slightly in 2003 from 4.9 years in 2002 to 5.0 years.

In terms of a regional breakdown, life expectancy in 2003 for both sexes combined was highest in British Columbia at 80.8 years and Ontario 80.2. Nunavut had the lowest life expectancy for both sexes, at 68.5, although the agency cautions that northern numbers maybe less accurate because of the small population base involved in the calculation.

In terms of deaths, 226,169 people died in Canada in 2003. That was an increase of 1.2 per cent from the year before. The population of Canada also increased by 1 per cent in 2003.

The number of deaths increased everywhere in Canada, except in Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the Yukon, where it declined.

The infant mortality rate declined slightly in 2003 to 5.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003 from 5.4 deaths in 2002.