The second wave of Covid-19 has seen above-average death rates among younger Canadians and those in the western provinces, Statistics Canada reports.

New data from the national statistical agency shows that the impact of the pandemic on the Canadian population shifted since the first wave in the spring of 2020, which largely affected older people in Ontario and Quebec.

“The impact of the pandemic on mortality in Canada has evolved since the spring, affecting a broader array of populations, including younger age groups and those living in the western provinces,” it said.

StatsCan reported that, from mid-September to November, Canada experienced a return to so-called “excess mortality” at the national level as the actual number of deaths exceeded expectations.

Excess mortality was first evident in March to June, amid the pandemic’s first wave. The trend subsided over the summer but re-emerged in the fall, albeit affecting different demographics.

StatsCan reported that 16% of the excess deaths recorded in the fall involved people under the age of 45, compared with just 4% in the first wave.

Given that there have only been approximately 50 deaths attributed to Covid-19 in Canadians under the age of 45 since the start of the pandemic, and that there were over 440 excess deaths in this demographic in the fall alone, the excess deaths in younger people cannot be attributed directly to Covid-19, StatsCan noted.

Instead, it pointed to indirect effects of the pandemic, such as an increase in overdose deaths as a possible reason for the excess mortality in younger people, particularly males.

The added deaths among younger men has also been concentrated in Alberta and British Columbia, it noted.

Indeed, StatsCan reported that the excess deaths in the fall reflect a “western shift compared with earlier in the pandemic, when almost 90% of the higher-than-expected deaths occurring in the provinces were reported in Quebec (52%) and Ontario (38%).”

In the fall, Quebec only accounted for 21% of the excess mortality, while an additional 16% and 15% occurred in B.C. and Alberta, respectively. Ontario was little changed at 37%.

Overall, there were about 5% more deaths than expected in the first 11 months of 2020, StatsCan said — an excess of 12,067 deaths above what would have been expected if there was no pandemic.

Additionally, StatsCan noted that Covid-19 was related to more deaths in 2020 than any leading cause from 2019, except for cancer and heart disease.