Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHealth in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast beats 93% of Canadian towns
Across the region, 59% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; British Columbia as a whole manages 50%. The town’s own part is the trip to care, and Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s is long: 27 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical. The Health grade for Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast is A, #56 of 254 in British Columbia and #397 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
Fewer smokers
Around Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, only 3.7% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate lower than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
A long way to hospital
Distance is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s own health question: 0% of residents live beyond 30 km of a hospital, and the trip from its centre is 26 km. Getting care ↓
Longer lives in the region
Born around Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, a child can expect 2.8 more years than in the typical Canadian town’s region; at 65, another 22.6 (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
A lighter load of illness
Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure are rarer here than in the typical town’s region, even for its ages: 16% report high blood pressure and 4% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
From Statistics Canada: the health survey and life expectancy for the health region, the deprivation index for the town; distances from the healthcare facilities database and OpenStreetMap.
Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast grades A for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
The region’s four figures and the town’s distance to a hospital are each ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, then averaged. Its place: #56 of 254 in British Columbia and #397 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
How the grade works
Health is graded as a regional score, labelled as such: very good or excellent self-rated health, chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure averaged) and smoking from the Canadian Community Health Survey, each age-standardised so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, and life expectancy at birth, all for the health region. The residents’ average distance to a hospital is the one input measured for the town itself, so towns in one region can still differ.
In the region, high blood pressure (16%) and diabetes (4%)
Long-term conditions and habits as the region’s adults reported them; the tick marks the province.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
On weight the region is ordinary for British Columbia: 23% report obesity, the province 25%. Heavy drinking runs above the province, 23% to 19%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight. The anxiety disorder figure is the 2021/2022 estimate: Statistics Canada found the latest too unreliable to publish here.
From Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, a hospital is 27 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, weighted by who lives there.
Residents of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast travel further than most of the province: the typical town in British Columbia is 4.4 km from a hospital, the typical Canadian town 3.7 km.
Hospitals and clinics: Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities. Pharmacies: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Straight-line distances from each dissemination area, weighted by its 2021 population.
Life expectancy across the 16 health regions in British Columbia
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in British Columbia, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
This region is 3rd longest-lived of 16 in British Columbia, on a scale from 76.6 to 86.8 years.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
This is the one part of the block measured for Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast itself, and it sets the scene rather than feeding the grade.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Behind regions as deprived by 1.4 years of life
Plotted region by region (102 in all, since towns have no figures of their own), Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s region comes out below the trend.
Set against 102 regions on the deprivation index (correlation −0.83), the region Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast belongs to lives less long than its score of 1.7 predicts: 84.3 years, where the trend gives 85.7. Among the 10 regions closest to it on the index, shorter lives win out: 6 of the 10, around a median of 83.5 years.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, 2022/2024, by health region. Deprivation: Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021 (situational vulnerability), averaged over each region’s towns by their residents; income: 2021 Census median household income, averaged the same way. The averages and the line are TownRatings calculations.
59% in the region call their health very good or excellent, more than in British Columbia (50%)
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Mental health looks better than in the province too: 55% rate it very good or excellent, against 49% in British Columbia, and 22% find most days quite stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Further from a hospital than most towns its size: Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast comes 39th of 40
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (3,201 to 3,307 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.8 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Clair ON B+ | 3,201 | 0.7 km | 53% |
| 2 | Miller AB B+ | 3,294 | 0.8 km | 51% |
| 3 | Marathon ON C | 3,223 | 0.9 km | 49% |
| 37 | Greater Madawaska ON C− | 3,234 | 24 km | 50% |
| 38 | North Algona Wilberforce ON C− | 3,290 | 25 km | 50% |
| 39 | Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast BC A | 3,256 | 27 km | 59% |
| 40 | Hampton NB D | 3,268 | 27 km | 43% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
The places around, with the distance to a hospital and their regions’ figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast | 27 km | 59% | 84.3 | A |
| Welcome Beach 16 km | 11 km | 59% | 84.3 | A+ |
Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast and all of these places belong to one health region: the regional figures repeat, the hospital distances don’t. Welcome Beach is the closest to care, 11 km to Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s 27 km.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Adjusted for age. The grade’s three survey shares are age-standardised to Canada’s adults, so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, while the survey charts show answers as given.
- Distances are straight lines. Roads, rivers and ferries aren’t in it: the figure is a straight line from where people live, averaged over residents.
- What counts as a hospital. A “hospital” here is whatever the provinces listed as one in Statistics Canada’s database, which can mean a site without an emergency department.
- Deprivation is context. Deprivation is shown to set the scene and doesn’t count toward the grade; Statistics Canada left the territories out of the index.
- Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast itself is the trip to care.
- Who the survey asks. The health survey leaves out people living on reserves, full-time Canadian Forces members, people in institutions, and Nunavik and the Cree lands of James Bay.
Questions about health in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
How far is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast from a hospital?
Residents of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast have a clinic 43 km away on average and a pharmacy 2.4 km away, in straight lines.
How healthy is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out ahead of the typical Canadian town. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 12%.
What is the life expectancy in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s health region only: 86.3 years for women and 82.3 for men (2022/2024).
How is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s Health Grade worked out?
No letter yet for Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast: Canada is graded in one run, and Health will then compare its region and its access to care with the typical Canadian town.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (13-10-0972) · Statistics Canada, life expectancy 2022/2024 (13-10-0988) · Statistics Canada, health regions 2023 (82-402-X) · Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · pharmacies © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).