This is the second version of the "Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians". Like the original in 1996, this "Report" provides a comprehensive and detailed statistical overview of the health status of Canadians and the major determinants of that status. The original report was created for the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health, which has also commissioned this update. The broad purpose of the Report is to help policy-makers and program planners identify priority issues and measure progress in the domain of population health

This report summarizes the most current information we have on the health of Canadians. As such, it is a tool to alert policy makers, practitioners and the public to current and future challenges in population health and to identify actions that will improve the health of all Canadians.