Chapter 1 - Demographics and Life Expectancy

Key Messages:

• Algoma is home to an aging population, with a higher proportion of seniors aged 65 years and older compared to Northeast Public Health Units (NE PHUs) and Ontario.
  
  
• A male and female baby born in Algoma are expected to live to 77.2 and 81.6 years respectively.
  
  
• Infant mortality in Algoma has significantly reduced from 7.5 to 4.8 per 1,000 live births from 2000 to 2021.
  
  
• Algoma’s all-cause mortality (873.4 per 100,000) remains higher than the province (665.5 per 100,000).
  
  
• Lung cancer and accidental drug poisoning are the number one and two leading causes of preventable deaths in Algoma, respectively.

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Geography

 

Algoma Public Health’s (APH’s) boundary covers over 41,000 square kilometers and contains 21 municipalities, two large unorganized areas and numerous Indigenous communities. The region serviced by the health agency stretches over an eight-hour drive along Highway 17 from Spanish in the east to White River in the north.

Northern Ontario is serviced by seven public health units, five of which serve the Northeast region while the other two serve the Northwest. The Northeast public health units (NE PHUs) include Algoma Public Health, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, Porcupine Health Unit, Public Health Sudbury & Districts, and Timiskaming Health Unit.

 

Population and Age

 

The population serviced by Algoma Public Health in 2021: 112,764

 

• The population declined from 2011 to 2016 by 1.5%,1 and further from 2016 to 2021 by
  0.28%and it is expected to grow by 4.6% between 2021 and 2026.
  
  
• The average age in Algoma is higher than that of NE PHUs residents (44.7 years old)
  and Ontario residents (41.8 years old)
  
  
• An alternate method of looking at age is to use the median, which is a measure that
  is less easily skewed by extreme values in the population. The median age of an
  Algoma resident is 50 years old, which compared to 46.8 and 41.6 years old in the
  NE PHUs and Ontario respectively.
  
  
• Algoma has a higher percentage of seniors than both the NE PHUs (23.3%) and
  Ontario (18.5%).
  
  
• By 2026, residents aged 65 years and older are projected to be 29.2% of Algoma’s
  population.

Life Expectancy

 

At birth

 

• According to the data available from 2015–2017, life expectancy at birth has increased in Algoma.
  
  
• Until updated Algoma-specific data becomes available, it is useful to refer to provincial level data for 2018 – 2020. This most recent data showed a decrease in life expectancy for boys and girls to 80.2 years and 84.5 years respectively. This decrease is primarily attributed to deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Note, the COVID-19 specific death rate during 2020 in Algoma was 0 while it was 66.7 per 100,000 people in Ontario.
  
  
• On average, a person born and living in Algoma lives for 3 years less than the provincial average life expectancy.

 

At 65 years of age

 

• A 65 year old person living in Algoma lives for 1 year less than the provincial average life expectancy.
  
  
• On average, females have a longer life expectancy than males in Algoma, the NE PHUs and Ontario.

 

Life expectancy at 65 years of age 2015 - 2017

 

	Algoma	NE PHU	Ontario
Male	18.2 years	18.2 years	19.8 years
Female	21.2 years	21.1 years	22.6 years

 

Mortality in Algoma

 

All-cause mortality

 

• 822.3 deaths per 100,000
  • The annual average death rate in Algoma from all causes remained stable through 2013 to 2019
• 873.4 deaths per 100,000
  • Death rate from all causes in Algoma, continues to be higher than the province
  • NE PHUs: 860.0
  • Ontario: 665.5

Leading cases of mortality

 

• Heart Diseases: 407 deaths (2021)
• Alzheimer and Dementia: 197 deaths (2021)
• Lung Cancer: 98 deaths (2021)

 

Infant Mortality

 

• In Algoma, more than 4 babies die before their first birthday, out of every 1,000 live births. This is similar to NE PHUs and Ontario

 

Premature Mortality

 

• Between 2018 - 2020, the following deaths were premature:
  • 40% Algoma
  • 42.3% NE PHUs
  • 36.5% Ontario
    
    
• In Algoma, 7 in 10 premature deaths can be potentially avoided through healthy behaviours and/or effective public health interventions.

 

Unintentional Drug Poisonings

 

• 91% of unintentional drug poisoning deaths from 2017-2021 were preventable