Here we have the total number of deaths in Canada and its regions over the past ten years.
Here we have the same chart you saw above now expressed as a rate per 100,000 people. Generally, a flatter trend in death rates would suggest that population growth may be a key factor driving growth in total deaths.
Looking at the past decade nationally, we see that it's natural for deaths in one year to exceed deaths in the previous year (blue line > 0%). Note that a year of low or negative growth is often followed by a year of much higher growth.
Again, we see that when we adjust for population growth, the growth trend is weaker but still there - the aging of the population is a primary factor. Deaths are rising in absolute and relative terms, suggesting a combo of population growth and aging.
Canada total weekly deaths Jan. 2010-Mar. 2021.
Ontario total weekly deaths Jan. 2010-Dec. 2020.
Nombre total de décès hebdomadaires au Québec de janvier 2010 à avril 2021.
Here are deaths and death rates since 1900. Note how the death rate bottomed out in the early 1980s and has been rising steadily since, accelerating when the Baby Boomers started to reach their 70s in 2016.
Here are leading causes of death in Canada over the past 5 years.
Many recent deaths remain unclassified in the "information unavailable" column and will presumably will properly attributed over time.
Here is the same, presented as rates per 100,000 population to account for population growth.
A key question to address as this data evolves is the degree to which deaths attributed to covid-19 have substituted for deaths attributed to other causes.
Part of the increase in death in 2020 can be explained by the response to the pandemic (i.e., lockdown), rather than covid-19 itself.
The mission of the @IdeasInst "is to make a public commitment to the values of the enlightenment: liberty, tolerance, universal rights and rationalism."
This resonates so well with what many of us here believe in, especially as the last two years have strengthened our values.
Here are two Ontario-focused articles (written by your neighbours!) to share with family and friends who may benefit from knowing they're not alone in feeling that things have gotten out of hand in this province.
The children (and adults) of Ontario are not alright.
"Ontario’s children are the victims of abuse. Under any other circumstances, what Ontario’s children are experiencing would be investigated by our police as child abuse."
"In my classroom, the learning loss is noticeable. My students can’t concentrate and they aren’t doing the work that I assign to them.
...
Our children need life on the highest volume. And they need it now."
A maternity hospital in Japan has raised concerns about mask usage during pregnancy, noting that the length of umbilical cords has shortened alongside an increase in mask usage during covid.
This was posted on Instagram and is, unsurprisingly, no longer available.
The wording of the Instagram post is available here for those who can read Japanese or who want to attempt a translation.