Some of the newest data and research from Statistics Canada shows that Canadians are living longer, but that increase does not correspond with an increase in the number of healthy years they are expected to live.

Health-adjusted life expectancy, or HALE, they say provides a measure of both longevity and health, “offering a more complete picture of population health than life expectancy alone,” the research agency states.

Estimates are now available for 2019, 2020 and 2023. “Results show that in 2023, HALE at birth was 66.9 years, nearly two years lower than in 2019 and 2020. In 2023, HALE at 65 was 15.3 years and remained relatively stable since 2019.” 

Measured at birth and at age 65, they say a decline in HALE may result from reductions in life expectancy, declines in health status, or a combination of both.

HALE at birth peaked at 70.4 years in the previously measured sample, before declining to 66.9 years in 2023. HALE at age 65 reached 15.3 years, comparable with levels seen before the pandemic.

Gender gap 

“Canadian females consistently outlive males and therefore spend more years in good health than males, according to life expectancy and HALE measures. However, because they live longer overall, females spend more years in poor health than males and live a smaller share of their lifespan in good health,” the report states.

Entitled, Health-adjusted life expectancy in Canada: Recent trends at birth and age 65 years, 2019, 2020 and 2023, the report goes on to say that in 2023, females had a life expectancy of 84 year at birth and a HALE of 67.7 years. In comparison, males had a life expectancy of 79.6 years and a HALE of 66.4 years. “This represents a gap of 4.4 years in total life expectancy and 1.3 years in healthy life expectancy. From 2019 to 2023, HALE at birth declined by 1.9 years for females and 1.7 years for males,” they write.

“In 2023, at age 65 years, females could expect to live another 22.3 years, with 15.8 of those years in good health. Males aged 65 years had a remaining life expectancy of 19.7 years and a HALE of 14.7 years.” 

The report also notes “while life expectancy has risen for both males and females over the past two decades, there has been little evidence of compression of morbidity,” they state. “Ideally, an increase in life expectancy would coincide with an equivalent or greater in health years, though this has not been the case.”