Funeral service providers say 2020 was record year

COVID-19, overdose crisis played roles in province's more than 40,000 deaths

The head of a large Canadian funeral service company says business grew in 2020 as deaths in B.C. broke the 40,000 mark in a year for the first time.

David Scanlan, head of Arbor Memorial Inc., said funeral services and burials last year had increased seven per cent across the company's 41 cemeteries, 22 crematoria and 92 funeral homes in Canada. Arbor has 22 sites in B.C. (although none in Vancouver or Burnaby).

In a prepared statement, he said people in the funeral service industry were little-known frontline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a society, we applaud emergency medical workers, doctors and nurses for their ongoing efforts during the pandemic,” Scanlan said. “But the front-line workers we often forget about are those last to respond, and who are helping families say goodbye.”

He said COVID-19 restrictions had changed the look of his business — with drive-thru and livestream services now being the norm.

“Funeral service providers have offered solutions, such as livestreaming services to allow for more people to join virtually, which has been valued when large gatherings aren't possible. But it hasn't been easy,” Scanlan said.

“Funeral directors are now also movie producers, trying their best to capture the sentiments of the service — the faces of the family, audio of their words of remembrance, and flashes of the special mementoes left on the casket. All this, live, without an audiovisual crew, battling outdoor conditions, being the master of ceremonies, and ensuring all COVID -19 restrictions and public health guidelines are being followed.”

There was a seven per cent rise in the number of deaths in B.C. between 2019 and 2020, to 41,116 people — the first time that number had gone over 40,000.

This jump was 2,737 people, more than double the 10-year average year-over-year increase of 1,100 deaths in B.C.

In the past decade, the smallest increase was 106 in 2019, and was as high as 1,830 in 2017.

So far in B.C. there have been 1,380 deaths from COVID-19.

Last year, 1,716 deaths were connected to the opioid crisis, with another 165 overdose deaths recorded in January 2021 (most occurring in Vancouver, Victoria and Surrey).

Scanlan noted that March 8 was the anniversary of the first COVID-19 death in Canada — at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver.