Higher Percentage of Excess Mortality Among Younger Canadians Since Pandemic, but Cause Not Mainly COVID-19

A paramedic is shown next to an ambulance outside a hospital in Montreal on Dec. 28, 2020. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

While it has been mostly older people with comorbidities who have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, it has been younger Canadians who have experienced the highest percentage of excess mortality, according to data from Statistics Canada.

Excess mortality takes place when more people die during a given period than normally expected based on trends.