Hi Everyone!
Statistics Canada
just released a report on mortality in Canada during 2020. This is one of the most intriguing reports on Covid that I have ever seen, compiled by statistics Canada. It looks into excess deaths, compared with normal mortality trends and the time of year.
In Alberta in particular, we have an increase in mortality over and above what is expected, beginning February 29th, roughly three weeks before lockdown began, and lowering down to normal the week of April 18th, and continuing at a less high level (but still above average) afterwards. In BC and Quebec excess deaths began March 15th (general lockdown began ~March 20th). In Quebec the excess deaths began March 28th, when a large number of Quebecers returned from the United States, likely bringing a vast number of Covid infections with them. Lockdown in Quebec began ~March 15th or so.
Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut all reported no excess deaths before and during the lockdown.
I personally knew 4 chronically ill but stable individuals who died extremely suddenly of devastating “heart attacks” in this period around the disability services agency I still associate with. In retrospect these may have been early covid infections.
We at this moment do not know much about Ontario’s similar data due to poor reporting.
This does suggest my hypothesis earlier, that this virus was non endemic to Canada, and seems to have clustered around the big international cities, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary. Though indeed, it seems the virus may have been circulating at an earlier date in Alberta, and Calgary specifically, perhaps a reflection of our close cultural connections to the United States.
The timing of many of these deaths, particularly in Alberta, should also give pause to those advancing the idea that the lockdown itself caused much of the mortality.