Breadcrumb Trail Links
New BrunswickThe IssuesHealth care
Health council study compared preventable and treatable deaths and found that locals were missing out on medical help
Author of the article:
John Chilibeck • Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published Jan 18, 2026 • Last updated 22 hours ago • 3 minute read
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
New Brunswickers don’t live as long as Canadians do on average largely because of treatable diseases that go unchecked until it’s too late, according to a new report. Photo by Piron Guillaume/UnsplashArticle content
A new report points to a disturbing reason the average New Brunswicker has a shorter life than the average Canadian does.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to keep reading.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite journalists.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors
Article content
The New Brunswick Health Council study on avoidable deaths, released last week, took a close look at the data.
It shows that about 2,000 people under 75 die in New Brunswick each year, either because their deaths were preventable – largely because of lifestyle choices – or treatable, because the health-care system didn’t do enough to ensure adequate screening of diseases or manage chronic health conditions and the like.
Between 2019-2021, the study found the death rates from preventable causes was similar in New Brunswick and Canada overall, around 135 deaths per 100,000 people.
But when it came to treatable causes, the picture was far different.
New Brunswick had 67 deaths that could have been avoided through treatment compared to 61 deaths per 100,000 nationally.
Stéphane Robichaud, CEO of the council, gave an example of how New Brunswickers are not being treated fast enough: colon cancer.
Morning Email Telegraph-Journal
Thanks for signing up!
Article content
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The disease begins in the colon or rectum, often starting as noncancerous growths called polyps that can become malignant tumours over time.
The polyps, or small clumps of cells, don’t usually cause symptoms, which is why screening older adults, especially people who have a family history of the disease, is key.
Patients, typically over the age of 50, are invited by the local hospital to poop in a small plastic receptacle and drop it off at a lab for analysis. Technicians look for traces of blood in the stool that might indicate signs of disease.
If you catch and treat the malady early enough, patients have a much better chance of survival and quality of life.
“If you look across the country at the colorectal test, you know those tests that people get at home that they may or may not follow up on, the differences are telling,” Robichaud said in an interview with Brunswick News.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“The percentage of people who reported having a recent colorectal test in Saskatchewan after they were asked to do so is 68 per cent. The national average is 49 per cent. And in New Brunswick, it’s only at 35 per cent.”
Colon cancer – often called colorectal cancer – is the fourth leading cause of avoidable death in New Brunswick and the top one for being medically treatable ahead of time.
Another example he pointed to were mammograms to screen women for breast cancer.
“This is a lot about sensitizing people to the value of these tests,” Robichaud said. “Among females between the ages of 50 to 74, in Alberta 84 per cent have had a recent mammogram. The national average is 79 per cent. And in New Brunswick? It’s 68 per cent.”
Among women, breast cancer was the eighth leading cause of avoidable death in New Brunswick.
On average, a New Brunswicker lives slightly shorter than an average Canadian does. In New Brunswick, a person born today can expect to live about 80 years and four months. Across Canada, the average life expectancy at birth is 81 years and six months, more than a year longer.
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Drilling down, health experts chose any deaths before 75 as premature, or earlier than expected. They then broke those deaths down further into unavoidable deaths, when nothing could have been done in terms of prevention or treatment, or avoidable deaths, the ones that could have been prevented or treated.
The top three avoidable deaths in New Brunswick were also preventable deaths, largely caused by lifestyle: lung cancer was tops (294 deaths on average annually between 2018 and 2022), heart disease (276 deaths), and COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (137 deaths).
Rounding out the top six were diabetes and stroke.
Robichaud said many people could take matters into their own hands if they want to live longer and have a better quality of life.
“The main area where we can have an impact is about those lifestyles, so it’s about more physical activity, better nutrition, and less tobacco and alcohol consumption,” he said. “If you look at the six leading causes, out of a list of 82 causes of avoidable deaths, they account for about 1,000, or half of the deaths.”
The report found that five out of the top six causes of avoidable death were highly influenced by prevention efforts, such as lifestyle changes, and share common risk factors, such as smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet.
It also found that four out of six of these causes were highly influenced by early detection as well as disease management efforts, such as management of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, unhealthy weights, and keeping diabetes in control.
Article content
Share this article in your social network