Fact or Fiction: Number of Deceased Canadians Increased from December 2022 – December 2023
Cleanlist reports that 22,527 Canadians passed away in December 2023. That’s an 11.5% decrease compared to December 2022, but a notable 5% increase month-over-month. The average age of death was 77. This data is summarized from the Canadian Deceased Registry.
Here is a look at the Death Data per province in December 2023:
| Province | # of Deceased | Deceased per 100,000 of population |
| ON | 8,639 | 54.7 |
| QC | 5,545 | 62 |
| AB | 1,992 | 41.9 |
| BC | 1,903 | 34.1 |
| MB | 1,018 | 69.5 |
| SK | 932 | 76.5 |
| NS | 903 | 84.7 |
| NB | 850 | 100.9 |
| NL | 574 | 106.2 |
| PE | 171 | 97.2 |
Published by Cleanlist, January 2024 | Data Source: The Canadian Deceased Registry
Standout highlights from December 2023:
- The number of deaths per 100k in all provinces was lower than in December 2022 but higher than in November 2023.
- The total number of deaths in all provinces was lower than in December 2022 but higher than in November 2023.
- The average age of death in Canada was the exact same as last year sitting at 77.7 years.
- However, the average age of death decreased from November 2023 to December 2023 by a sliver from 77.9 to 77.7.
Why were deaths down in Canada in December 2023 compared to December 2022?
Although the average age of death stayed the same from December 2022 to December 2023, the number of deaths was notably lower. The reason for this drop in numbers Cleanlist speculates could be due to an increased awareness of preventative healthcare due to COVID-19, a decrease in disease outbreaks or a shift in external factors such as milder weather conditions.
How Is Canadian Deceased Data Used?
There are many ways organizations can effectively utilize mortality data. Here are the top 3.
#1 – Fraud Protection
In 2022, the Royal Canadian Military Police (RCMP) reported that there were 19,560 counts of identity theft in Canada amounting to $146 million in losses. Fraudsters will often exploit deceased individuals’ information to create false identities and engage in illicit transactions. They are expecting fraud activities to increase in 2023 and 2024.
Credit issuers can protect themselves by cross-referencing new applicant information against the Canadian Deceased Registry.
#2 – Policy Over-Payments
Pension funds and some annuity insurance policies make benefit payments to their policyholders to the date of death. When the death is not reported, or when the reporting is delayed, significant over-payments occur.
Payors can reduce over-payments and improve administrative efficiency by regularly scanning their payee population against the Canadian Deceased Registry.
#3 – Marketing & Reputation Management Mishalps
Organizations involved in marketing communications, fundraising, and customer relations can find themselves in an awkward and unpleasant situation by attempting to solicit deceased family members. This damages valuable brand reputations.
Marketing and CRM managers can avoid these situations by scrubbing their campaign lists against the Canadian Deceased Registry.
About the Data
The data presented in this report was summarized by Cleanlist from the Canadian Deceased Registry, Canada’s only national registry of deceased Canadians. To learn more about the database or for licensing information:
Cleanlist is Canada’s largest customer data company. We clean, enrich, and validate business and consumer data. We’re also experts in data-driven document composition and Canada’s largest data provider for digital and offline marketing. To learn more, visit us at Cleanlist.ca.
