A new study from Statistics Canada reveals that certain racialized populations in Canada have significantly higher mortality rates from COVID-19.
The analysis indicates that the death rate from COVID-19 was much higher among racialized people than non-racialized people. Some 31 deaths per 100,000 racialized people have been recorded, compared to 22 deaths per 100,000 non-racialized people.
Black people have the highest death rate — more than twice as high as non-racialized Canadians. Next come those who identify as South Asian and Chinese.
However, the Chinese have a death rate similar to that of non-racialized people.
In the general Canadian population, men have higher death rates, but black men are the most affected with 62 deaths per 100,000 people. Black women also have a much higher mortality than their non-racialized counterparts.
Chinese women have the lowest death rate with 16 deaths per 100,000 people.
The study estimated COVID-19 death rates in Canada in 2020 and compared them to recently released census data from 2016. It also explored the effects of low income on the death rate of racialized people after taking into account other risk factors such as age, sex and type of housing.
Only South Asians, Chinese and Blacks are included in the analysis due to sample size restrictions.
Income level
The study finds that a person’s socioeconomic status played a role in COVID-19 deaths for all populations except the Chinese. People living in low-income, crowded homes and apartments have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19.
Income level has the greatest effect on death rates among black people. Death rates for low-income black people are almost three times higher than for the rest of the population.
Study authors Shikha Gupta and Nicole Aitken say their findings are consistent with others conducted in the United States and elsewhere that have found more severe outcomes among racialized populations.
A study commissioned by the Black Coalition Against COVID in the United States found that infection, hospitalization and death rates were highest among black Americans. This study indicated that this resulted from structural and societal realities, including working on the front lines, living in multi-generational homes and in more populated areas. Health inequalities, including higher rates of diabetes and chronic kidney disease, as well as racism and prejudice within the healthcare system also play a role, the study finds.
The Statistics Canada study points out that the relationship between low-income racialized populations and mortality from COVID-19 could be explained by “multiple avenues”. Low income, inadequate housing and reduced access to preventive health care can increase the risk.
The study did not analyze the effect of COVID-19 on Indigenous peoples.
Race-based COVID-19 data released in Manitoba last year showed Indigenous people accounted for 17 per cent of COVID-19 infections, despite making up 13 per cent of the provincial population. The province’s First Nations COVID-19 task force has found much higher rates of complications and deaths among this population throughout the pandemic.