The average life expectancy of men in Ontario has gotten shorter because of the opioid crisis.
Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that the life expectancy of Ontario men fell by five weeks in 2018 compared to previous years based on death records in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
"For the first time in decades, a slight decrease (-0.1 year) in life expectancy among males living in Ontario was observed from 2017 to 2018," the report stated.
Statistics Canada found Ontarians around the ages of 25 to 50 were dying sooner than they did during previous years, likely because the opioid crisis is hitting Ontario harder than other provinces.
"Deaths resulting from opioid intoxication tend to be more common in males of this age group," its report said.
Life expectancy for men in Ontario is now an average of 80.3 years while Ontario women can expect to live an average of 84.4 years, the same it has been since 2014.
The latest Public Health Ontario report showed opioid overdoses jumped by over 40 per cent in the province during the first three months of 2019. The data shows 435 people died from opioid-related causes from January to March, up from 307 deaths during the same period in 2018. The data also shows there were over 3,400 emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses from April to June of this year. That's an increase over the same period in 2018, which saw about 2,300 emergency department visits caused by opioid overdoses.
Men in British Columbia also had a decrease in their life expectancy in 2018, marking the third consecutive year of decline. The agency said they saw roughly a 2.5-month decrease, the largest among all provinces.
Statistics Canada said life expectancy increased among males living in Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador from 2017 to 2018. It also increased among females over the same period in Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Across Canada, the average life expectancy for men is 79.9 years, which has held steady since 2014, while women can expect to live a little longer to 84.1 years on average.