More Canadian men died than expected in 2020
Overdoses, delays in care, could be reasons for excess deaths during pandemic summer
VICTORIA— Something has been killing young men in Western Canada — something that’s not COVID- 19. At least, not directly.
New numbers released by Statistics Canada point to deadly knock- on effects of the pandemic, even for the parts of the population less vulnerable to infection from the virus itself.
The data, released Monday, looks at what statisticians call “excess deaths,” meaning the number of people who have died above and beyond what would be predicted in a normal year.
From May to October, 7,172 Canadians under the age of 45 died — 1,385 more than statisticians predicted for that time period.
A large majority — 81 per cent — were men.
Of the “excess” deaths of young men in the summer, most were concentrated in B. C. or Alberta.
So what killed them?
Some mystery remains around that question.
Among the excess deaths of people under 45, fewer than 50 of them are known to have died of COVID- 19 itself.
But Canada’s provincial coroners and vital statistics offices take time to process causes of death, and about 13 per cent of deaths between January and October had no determined cause as of the data release.
The B. C. Coroners Service confirmed that a portion of the excess deaths in that province were due to the sharp rise in deaths related to toxic and illicit drugs, an issue that has held the status of a public health emergency in B. C. since 2016.
“There have been 1,548 illicit drug deaths in 2020 in B. C., and the number of deaths in each health authority is at or near the highest ever monthly totals,” reads a statement sent to the Star from the agency Monday.
It’s an existing crisis that disproportionately affects men. The percentage of men among those who died of overdose or toxic drugs in B. C. is the same as the national percentage of young men included in the excess deaths numbers — 81 per cent.
And the crisis was made worse by the COVID- 19 pandemic, partly because closed borders made it harder for drug users to access their usual supply, and partly because the social isolation prescribed by the pandemic restrictions closed certain services like supervised consumption sites and made it likelier that people would use drugs alone.
“If we were not under such a system of prohibition at the time COVID- 19 started, we would not be seeing the number of deaths we’re seeing now,” said Caitlin Shane, a lawyer with Pivot Legal Society, which advocates for a safer drug supply and other human rights causes.
“Part of the reason they have been so high is the existing system of prohibition which creates a robust underground market.”
Advocates for drug users support the move by Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart to decriminalize illicit drug possession in the city — and they want to see the same done across Canada.
Another factor in the high rate of excess deaths among young men in Canada throughout the pandemic may be that men, in general, seek less help than do women.
That applies both to physical medical issues and to mental health challenges.
Dr. John Ogrodniczuk, director of the University of British Columbia’s psychotherapy program and head of the men’s mental health website HeadsUpGuys, is concerned that suicides account for some of the rise in excess deaths among young men.
Men under 45 account for 75 per cent of suicide deaths, Ogrodniczuk said, and studies also show more men died by suicide at times of greater societal stress — such as the 2008 financial crisis.
“Suicide is a very complicated issue but some of the things we know likely contribute to suicide in men — a lot of young men feel this enormous pressure to conform to masculine norms,” he said. “There tends to be reduced distress disclosure in men and in the same regard there’s lower help seeking — they just don’t reach out.”
Ogrodniczuk said he hopes the Canadian data will eventually provide more detailed information on whether more Canadians died of suicide throughout the pandemic — which he views as an important step toward having a national conversation about suicide in men, and the loneliness it can cause.
“If guys are feeling stressed, depressed, anxious whatever it is — do not keep it to yourself,” he said.
“There are folks out there who can help.”