Unintentional injuries emerged as the third leading cause of death in 2023, trailing only cancer and heart disease, due to a surge in accidental drug poisonings and falls, government statistics suggest.
Fatal unintentional injuries now account for 6 percent of all deaths in Canada, a 139 percent increase since 2000, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. The accidental death toll was at 8,631 in 2000, surging to 20,597 by 2023.
While injuries from transport accidents, falls, poisonings, drownings, and fires were included in the 20,597 deaths, drug poisonings and accidental falls were the driving forces behind the increase, StatCan said.
As a percentage of deaths from all causes, those attributed to accidental falls has typically been higher than that of accidental drug poisoning. However, since the beginning of the opioid crisis, “the gap between the two has markedly narrowed,” the report said. “In fact, accidental drug poisoning deaths surpassed accidental fall deaths in 2021.”…