Some racialized groups had higher mortality rates from COVID-19, StatsCan analysis of 2020 data finds – CBC
Low-income people, those in overcrowded housing and apartments had higher odds of dying from COVID-19
Aug 30, 2022
A Statistics Canada study has found that some racialized populations in Canada had significantly higher mortality rates from COVID-19.
The analysis says the COVID-19 death rate was much higher for racialized people compared to non-racialized people in 2020. It found 31 deaths per 100,000 for racialized people and 22 deaths per 100,000 for the non-racialized population.
Black people had the highest mortality rate — more than two times higher than non-racialized residents. That was followed by those who identify as South Asians and Chinese.
However, those who were Chinese had a similar mortality rate to non-racialized people.
The study estimated COVID-19 mortality rates in Canada in 2020 and compared them with newly released census data from 2016.
Statistics Canada usually uses the term “racialized population” in reference to the “visible minority” concept from the census. However, the COVID-19 analysis looked only at South Asian, Chinese and Black people, due to sample size restrictions, the study says.
