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Jack Goodman, an associate professor in the University of Toronto’s faculty of physical education and health, said a steadily increasing lifespan for Canadians can be expected as medical advancements and healthier lifestyles pave the way for greater longevity.

“When we look at healthy aging and even aging in the presence of disease, there’s one thing that’s always a factor and that’s medical care,” Goodman said Tuesday. “The hypothetical (situation) is that there’s more medical support and resources available . . . and that’s a definite factor that would in some way play a role (in longer life expectancy).

“I believe the number of baby boomers who are just passing middle age now — as their activity patterns are much higher (than the current elderly population) were when they were of baby boomer age — are going to be in much better shape . . . and should have continually increasing lifespans.”

As life expectancy in the country climbed, the gap between the sexes narrowed.

“While men generally have a lower life expectancy than women, the gains made in the previous 10 years have narrowed the gender gap,” Statistics Canada said in the release.

“During the 1996 to 1998 period, the gap in life expectancy at birth between men and women was 5.6 years, whereas in 2006-08 it was 4.6 years.”

Now, the nationwide average expectancy is 78.5 for men and 83.1 for women.

In 2008, 238,617 people died, up 1.4 per cent from 2007.

B.C. and Ontario had the lowest standardized death rates of 5.1 per 1,000 while Nunavut had the highest at 8.1.

The national average was 5.4 in 2008.

Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at birth or at another age and is calculated using three-year data.

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