A resurfaced clip from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast has reignited false claims that COVID-19 vaccines caused Canada’s decline in life expectancy during the pandemic years. But official data shows the drop was driven by COVID-19 itself, along with a surge in opioid-related deaths.
In a January 2024 episode of the podcast, comedian Tony Hinchliffe described the decline as “unprecedented,” while Rogan implied that vaccines and boosters were to blame. The exchange spread widely on social media this September, drawing tens of thousands of likes and views across platforms. Posts sharing the clip linked the decline to vaccination without offering context or evidence.
Statistics Canada confirms that life expectancy did fall for three consecutive years, dropping from 82.3 years in 2019 to 81.7 years in 2020 — the largest single-year decline since records began in 1921. The downward trend continued through 2022. However, the agency attributes the drop to pandemic-related deaths and rising overdose fatalities, not vaccines.
COVID-19 ranked as the third leading cause of death in Canada in 2020, and remained among the top causes in 2021 and 2022. At the same time, opioid toxicity deaths nearly doubled over the past decade, climbing from 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016 to 17.6 in 2024.
Life expectancy rose again in 2023, increasing by 0.4 years to 81.7, though still below the pre-pandemic level.
Health Canada data further undermines the vaccine claims. Of 488 reported deaths following vaccination as of January 2024, only four were determined to have a causal link to immunization. Experts stress that this does not explain the nationwide decline in life expectancy.
Statistics Canada notes that declines occur when deaths increase overall, strike younger populations, or both. The combined toll of COVID-19, overdoses, and other pandemic-era health impacts — not vaccines — drove the decline.
The Canadian Press has previously fact-checked similar misinformation spread on Rogan’s show, including false claims about ivermectin and other unproven treatments.