Health in Port Elgin · CCHS 2023/2024, Statistics Canada
17% of adults smoke in the health region around Port Elgin, against 12% for the typical Canadian town
In the health survey, 48% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than Ontario’s 51%. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Port Elgin live 4.8 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km. The Health grade for Port Elgin is C+, #720 of 866 in Ontario and #2,125 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
Ontario: 51% · Shared with the rest of the Grey Bruce Health Unit: very good or excellent health, chronic conditions, smokers and life expectancy
Chronic conditions
17%
arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure: average share
Ontario: 17%
Smokers
17%
daily or occasional, age-standardised
Ontario: 11%
Life expectancy
81.3
at birth, 2022/2024
women 83.6 · men 78.9
Nearest hospital
4.8 km
residents’ average, straight line
the typical Canadian town: 3.7 km
Health Grade
Port Elgin grades C+ for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
Very good or excellent health (48%)Better than 24% of Canadian towns
Chronic conditions (17%)Better than 54% of Canadian towns
Smokers (17%)Better than 17% of Canadian towns
Life expectancy (81.3)Better than 61% of Canadian towns
Distance to a hospital (4.8 km)Better than 73% of Canadian towns
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: #720 of 866 in Ontario and #2,125 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.
For its deprivation
Deprivation all but predicts the region’s life expectancy, which falls just short of the trend
One dot per health region, 102 in all, since life expectancy and the index are published for regions; Port Elgin’s dot is marked, close to the line.
Situational vulnerability: residents’ average quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprivedLife expectancy at birth (years)
Deprivation explains most of the gap between regions (correlation −0.83 over 102), and Port Elgin’s region is a typical case: 81.3 years at a score of 2.8, where the trend says 81.7. Set beside its 10 nearest neighbours on the index, it outlives the majority, 6 of 10; their median is 81.1 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.
Conditions and habits
In the region, high blood pressure (25%) and diabetes (9%)
Long-term conditions and habits as the region’s adults reported them; the tick marks the province.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
High blood pressure
25%
Arthritis
27%
Diabetes
9%
Obese (self-reported)
37%
Mood disorder
14%
Anxiety disorder
12%
Habits · 2023/2024
Smoke daily or now and then
16%
Smoke every day
14%
Heavy drinking
23%
Ontario
At 37%, self-reported obesity is above Ontario’s 30%. Heavy drinking is commoner too (23% against 17%).
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.
Getting care
Getting to hospital from Port Elgin: 4.8 km on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Port Elgin, weighted by who lives there.
Hospital
4.8 km
residents’ average distance
the typical Canadian town: 3.7 km
Clinic
7.8 km
community health centre or clinic, residents’ average
Pharmacy
1.1 km
residents’ average distance
2.4 within 3 km of a typical home
More than 30 km from a hospital
0%
share of residents
Emergency
911
police, fire, ambulance; 811 for health advice in most provinces
Compared with 3.3 km for the typical town in Ontario and 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town, Port Elgin is on the far side.
Longest and shortest lives among the 34 regions in Ontario
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in Ontario, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
81.3
years at birth, 2022/2024
21.1
more years expected at 65
13th
longest of 34 regions in Ontario
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
York Regional Health Unit86.3
Peel Regional Health Unit85.3
Halton Regional Health Unit84.9
City of Toronto Health Unit84.7
City of Ottawa Health Unit83.7
Waterloo Health Unit82.8
Durham Regional Health Unit82.6
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit82.4
Middlesex-London Health Unit81.9
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit81.8
Huron Perth Health Unit81.7
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit81.5
Grey Bruce Health Unit81.3
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit81.3
City of Hamilton Health Unit81.2
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit81.2
Niagara Regional Area Health Unit81.2
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit81.0
Renfrew County and District Health Unit81.0
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit81.0
Oxford Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit80.6
Peterborough County—City Health Unit80.5
Brant County Health Unit80.4
Lambton Health Unit80.0
North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit80.0
Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit79.8
Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit79.6
Sudbury and District Health Unit79.1
Chatham-Kent Health Unit78.6
The District of Algoma Health Unit77.9
Porcupine Health Unit77.3
Timiskaming Health Unit77.0
Thunder Bay District Health Unit76.5
Northwestern Health Unit73.7
Among the 34 regions in Ontario, from 73.7 to 86.3 years, this one is 13th.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
Residential instability2.7
Economic dependency3.6
Ethno-cultural composition2.2
Situational vulnerability1.9
Statistics Canada scores every small area from 1 to 5 on each dimension; Port Elgin’s bars are its residents’ average, shown and not graded.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Health survey
46% in the region call their health very good or excellent, fewer than in Ontario (51%)
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Health very good or excellent
46%
Health fair or poor
16%
Mental health very good or excellent
49%
Mental health fair or poor
14%
Most days quite a bit stressful
23%
Strong sense of belonging
71%
Satisfied with life
89%
Ontario
Mental health is no outlier: 49% say very good or excellent (Ontario: 51%) and 23% live with stressful days.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Towns its size
Port Elgin is 33rd of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (17,673 to 18,676 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 2.9 km.
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Port Elgin itself is the trip to care.
•
Distances are straight lines. Each small census area is measured as the crow flies to the nearest facility and weighted by its 2021 residents, so real trips run longer.
•
What counts as a hospital. Facility locations come from Statistics Canada’s open database; records without coordinates sit at their postal code, and not every hospital has an emergency room.
•
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.
•
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.
•
Deprivation is context. The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (2021) is context, never graded, and the territories have none.
Questions about health in Port Elgin
How is Port Elgin’s Health Grade worked out?
It will once Canada’s single grading run is done, measured on the region’s survey and life expectancy and on how far Port Elgin’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
How healthy is Port Elgin?
Taken together the region leans less healthy than the typical Canadian town, but the picture is mixed. Chronic conditions there average 17% across arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How far is Port Elgin from a hospital?
For everyday care, Port Elgin’s residents are 1.1 km from a pharmacy and 7.8 km from a clinic on average.
What is the life expectancy in Port Elgin?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Port Elgin’s health region only: 83.6 years for women and 78.9 for men (2022/2024).
Photo: Gogerr · CC BY-SA 4.0