Photo: Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0People in Thunder Bay’s health region live to 76.5 on average, 5.0 years short of the typical Canadian town
In the health survey, 49% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than Ontario’s 51%. For Thunder Bay itself the measure is access: 3.2 km to the nearest hospital, much like the typical 3.7 km. Health gives Thunder Bay a grade of C−, #819 of 866 in Ontario and #2,341 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Thunder Bay
Smoking runs high
Around Thunder Bay, 13% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate higher than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
Fewer years than its deprivation would give
Regions scoring 3.8 on the deprivation index typically live 78.0 years; Thunder Bay’s region, at 76.5, falls short. For its deprivation ↓
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.
Thunder Bay 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.
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: #819 of 866 in Ontario and #2,341 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 (24%) and diabetes (8.8%)
What the survey finds on conditions, weight and habits for the region, the province as the tick.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
More adults report obesity than across Ontario: 41%, the province 30%. At 25%, heavy drinking beats the provincial 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.
Behind regions as deprived by 1.5 years of life
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding Thunder Bay’s lies below the line.
The trend through 102 regions (correlation −0.83) gives a region scored 3.8 about 78.0 years of life. Thunder Bay’s region falls short of it, at 76.5. It sits at the foot of the 10 regions closest to it on the index, which centre on 79.2 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.
Getting to hospital from Thunder Bay: 3.2 km on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Thunder Bay, weighted by who lives there.
For distance to care Thunder Bay is ordinary: 3.3 km is the typical figure in Ontario, 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town.
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.
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.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
The region comes 33rd of 34 in Ontario, where life expectancy runs from 73.7 to 86.3 years.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
This is the one part of the block measured for Thunder Bay 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.
48% in the region call their health very good or excellent, fewer than in Ontario (51%)
How adults in the health region answered the survey, not adjusted for age; the tick marks the province.
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
On mental health the region is behind Ontario, 47% very good or excellent to 51%; 18% describe most days as quite a bit stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Among 40 towns its size, Thunder Bay is 14th nearest a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (85,560 to 160,882 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.6 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria BC A+ | 103,888 | 1.5 km | 55% |
| 2 | New Westminster BC A | 92,124 | 1.8 km | 48% |
| 3 | Airdrie AB A+ | 92,544 | 2.3 km | 56% |
| 12 | Brantford ON C+ | 123,521 | 3.1 km | 43% |
| 13 | Ajax ON B | 141,111 | 3.2 km | 50% |
| 14 | Thunder Bay ON C− | 117,671 | 3.2 km | 49% |
| 15 | Guelph ON B+ | 160,760 | 3.3 km | 51% |
| 16 | Drummondville QC A | 85,560 | 3.4 km | 61% |
| 40 | Bolton ON B+ | 90,201 | 12 km | 49% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Thunder Bay
Nearby places: distance to a hospital and each one’s regional figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay | 3.2 km | 49% | 76.5 | C− |
| Fort William 52 9.6 km | 6.9 km | 49% | 76.5 | C− |
| Oliver Paipoonge 16 km | 17 km | 49% | 76.5 | D |
Nothing in the regional columns separates Thunder Bay from its neighbours; the hospital distance is what does. Oliver Paipoonge is the furthest from care, 17 km to Thunder Bay’s 3.2 km.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Adjusted for age. Self-rated health, chronic conditions and smoking enter the grade adjusted to Canada’s adult age mix, though the survey block prints them as people answered.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Thunder Bay alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
- 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.
Questions about health in Thunder Bay
What is the life expectancy in Thunder Bay?
Women in Thunder Bay’s region live to 79.0 on average and men to 74.1, Statistics Canada’s 2022/2024 estimate.
How healthy is Thunder Bay?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out behind the typical Canadian town. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 18%.
How is Thunder Bay’s Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Thunder Bay’s own distance to care, against the typical Canadian town.
How far is Thunder Bay from a hospital?
For everyday care, Thunder Bay’s residents are 2.1 km from a pharmacy and 2.2 km from a clinic on average.
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).