Quick facts on injury and poisoning

Injury and poisoning deaths in Canada

In 2018 in Canada, 17,691 persons died from unintentional and intentional injuries, including poisonings (excluding complications of medical and surgical care).^{Footnote 1}

In 2015 in Canada (the most recent year for which ranked cause of death statistics are published):

• Unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death among those aged 1 to 34 years, and the 6th leading cause of death among all ages combined.^{Footnote 2}
• Death by suicide ranked as the 2nd leading cause of death among those age 15 to 34 years.^{Footnote 2}
• Poisonings were the 2nd leading cause of injury death, after falls.^{Footnote 2}

A significant burden of fatal and non-fatal poisonings can be attributed to Canada's opioid overdose crisis. Statistics on national opioid-related harms in Canada can be found on the Public Health Infobase.

Injury and poisoning hospitalizations in Canada

In Canada, in 2018/2019:^{Footnote 3}

• There were 225,208 injury-related hospitalizations (excluding complications of medical and surgical care).
• Unintentional injuries were the 8th leading cause of hospitalizations among all ages; however, among children aged 1 to 9 years, unintentional injuries were the 2nd leading cause of hospitalization, after respiratory system diseases.
• Falls were leading cause of injury hospitalization among all ages, while self-inflicted injuries were the 3rd leading cause of injury hospitalization among all ages, after falls and suffocation.
• Unintentional injuries were among the top 5 leading causes of hospitalizations for those aged 1 to 34 years and aged 80+ years.

Many non-fatal injuries result in impairments and disabilities such as blindness, spinal cord injury and intellectual deficit due to brain injury.

The Cost of Injury in Canada 2021 report estimates that all forms of injuries cost Canadians approximately $29.4 billion in 2018—or, $80 million per day. Unintentional injuries were the most common type of injury, accounting for 86% of all injuries. Of the $29.4 billion, the report assessed direct costs of $20.4 billion for payments to the health care system, and indirect costs of $9 billion due to reduced economic opportunities, pain and suffering, and unpaid labour of family members who helped care for survivors of injuries.^{Footnote 4}