A Nunavut man, on average, lives 10 years less than average Canadian counterpart

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

A March 12 Statistics Canada release on life expectancy in Canada from 2007 to 2009 shows Nunavut still suffers from the lowest life expectancy of any province or territory in Canada.

The overall life expectancy for Canadians now stands at more than 78 years for men and about 83 years for women.

But in Nunavut, a man born today can expect to live for only about 68 years. For women, the figure is 74 years.

For men that means the life expectancy is about the same as in Morocco, and, for women, life expectancy is about the same as in Saudi Arabia.

In 2008 Statistics Canada said this kind of low life expectancy found in Nunavut is usually found only in Third World countries such as the Dominican Republic, Egypt, and Guatemala, where per capita incomes are many times lower than in Canada.

The highest life expectancy in Canada can be found in British Columbia: 79.41 years for men and 83.71 for women.

Of the three territories, StatsCan ranks the Northwest Territories highest in terms of life expectancy, with a life expectancy of 74.4 years for men and 79.69 for women.

A map issued in 2011 by the Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for the North shows Nunavik also lags far behind the rest of Canada when it comes to life expectancy.

Nunavik, Nunavut, northern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan have the worst life expectancy in Canada, it said.

A child born in Nunavik today can expect to live 66.7 years. According to the centre. that’s the lowest life expectancy in Canada.