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Canadians living longer than ever

A new study says Canadians are living longer than ever.The Statistics Canada study says life expectancy at birth reached 80.7 years for the three-year period between 2005 and 2007.

OTTAWA — A new study says Canadians are living longer than ever.

The Statistics Canada study says life expectancy at birth reached 80.7 years for the three-year period between 2005 and 2007.

That’s up from the average of 80.5 between 2004 and 2006, and 78.4 a decade earlier.

Gains during the past decade were strongest among men, although women still live the longest.

Men’s life expectancy at birth rose 2.9 years to 78.3 in 2005-2007, while among women it increased by 1.8 years to 83.

Provincially, life expectancy at birth in British Columbia was 81.2 years in 2005-2007, highest among the provinces, followed by Ontario at 81 years.

Life expectancy at birth in Quebec was at the national average, while it was below the national average in the rest of the provinces. The lowest life expectancy was in the three territories combined, at 75.8 years.

Deaths recorded their largest increase since 1993, continuing a long-term upward trend resulting from a growing and aging population.

In 2007, 235,217 people died in Canada, up 7,138 — or 3.1 per cent — from 2006. Both male and female deaths rose, but the increase was slightly larger among women, 3.2 per cent compared with 3.1 for men.

The infant mortality rate rose to 5.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007 from five in 2006.