Lost-time injuries—Canada

Allowed lost-time injury rate, Provinces and Territories of Canada
Province2007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Alberta1.981.731.511.421.491.391.341.311.251.25
British Columbia3.062.962.352.272.332.342.302.272.222.20
Manitoba4.314.083.543.373.273.333.123.172.992.89
New Brunswick1.361.361.291.351.261.181.131.151.151.33
Newfoundland2.252.152.072.031.991.761.781.731.701.72
Nova Scotia2.722.592.332.212.082.011.921.901.941.93
Northwest Territories / Nunavut2.732.512.172.452.372.132.212.332.022.03
Ontario1.531.451.201.151.051.010.950.920.850.94
Prince Edward Island1.371.351.331.211.281.351.221.391.281.47
Quebec2.442.322.021.971.931.851.821.801.741.80
Saskatchewan3.723.573.333.152.902.812.572.242.042.11
Yukon Territory2.902.732.382.122.282.141.872.072.002.10
Canada2.242.121.821.761.721.651.601.561.511.54

Source

Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC). Accompanying notes available on the Detailed Key Statistical Measures Report on the AWCBC website. Ontario data includes Schedule 1 only. Rates for Schedule 2 are available in the next table.

Lost-time injuries—Ontario

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) allowed lost-time injury claims/rates (year of injury/illness)
Claim type2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
Schedule 161,99250,10446,16043,37142,70241,50840,58538,95343,38644,660
Schedule 216,26814,73914,04013,30112,82312,92213,10312,61713,98214,869
Schedule 1 rate1.511.271.151.051.010.950.920.850.940.95
Schedule 2 rate2.562.102.001.911.851.851.901.801.962.04

Source

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board By the Numbers 2017, Schedule 1 and Schedule 2.

No lost-time injuries

WSIB allowed no lost-time injury claims/rates (year of injury/illness)
Claim type2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
Schedule 1144,489115,340108,660108,954109,648110,120110,196107,504106,888111,411
Schedule 217,18216,50315,19214,72114,37115,20815,32814,62914,61714,840
Schedule 1 rate3.522.932.712.642.592.532.492.362.312.36
Schedule 2 rate2.702.362.162.122.072.182.222.092.052.03

Source

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board By the Numbers 2017, Schedule 1 and Schedule 2.

Critical injuries

Ministry of Labour reported critical injuries and critical injury rate (year of injury)
Event type2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
Total critical injury events1,1941,1661,1049661,1471,1301,0958739381,898
Critical injury rate (per 100,000 workers)19.8119.9418.5715.9118.7718.1317.4113.7514.6228.97

Source

Ministry of Labour Data Systems 2008 to 2017. Ministry of Labour calculation based on Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey 2008 to 2017.

Notes

Critical injury rates are calculated by the Ministry of Labour based on the number of reported critical injuries divided by the number of people employed under provincial jurisdiction.

Contributing factors for the increase in critical injuries reported to the Ministry of Labour starting in 2017 include (1) the Ministry of Labour clarifying the ministry’s interpretation of the legal definition of a critical injury in September 2016 to include fractures of the wrist, hand, ankle, foot, multiple fingers and toes; and (2) increased public awareness of reporting requirements after MOL media campaigns (awareness workbooks, employer guides, Prevention Starts Here poster) and Working At Heights (WAH) training.

Traumatic fatalities

Traumatic fatalities (year of death) counts and rates per 100,000 workers
Claim type2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
Schedule 1 (year of entitlement)60626371648264576070
Schedule 2 (year of entitlement)4665651442
Traumatic fatalities - MOL (year of death)46485655396556534554
Total Traumatic Fatalities for Ontario: Ministry of Labour & Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (year of death)797785947810281727281
Traumatic Fatality Rates, Per 100,000 Workers Ministry of Labour and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (year of death)1.311.321.431.551.281.641.291.131.121.24

Sources

  • Fatality count - Workplace Safety and Insurance Board By the Numbers 2017, Schedule 1 and 2 and Workplace Safety Insurance Board Day of Mourning Fatalities Report: 2008 to 2017.
  • Fatality rates - calculated by the Ministry of Labour.

Note

Fatality rates are calculated by dividing the number of reported fatalities by the number of people employed under provincial jurisdiction, as retrieved from the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey 2008 to 2017.

Traumatic fatalities—Top sectors

Top sectors - Traumatic fatality counts (and rates per 100,000) for schedule 1
Select Sectors*2011-132012-142013-152014-162015-172017 Only
Construction19 (5.91)20 (5.78)22 (5.78)22 (5.62)21 (5.11)20 (4.73)
Transportation14 (5.9)17 (6.69)17 (6.57)13 (5.19)13 (5.09)17 (6.32)
Mining4 (12.46)3 (9.09)3 (10.37)2 (8.13)2 (7.00)2 (7.05)
Forestry2 (23.05)1 (11.12)1 (13.96)1 (10.04)1 (12.89)1 (9.44)
All Sectors: WSIB Traumatic Fatality Rates for Ontario: Schedule 172 (1.70)70 (1.61)68 (1.52)60 (1.33)62 (1.35)70 (1.48)

Sources

  • By the Numbers: 2017 Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statistical Report Schedule 1.
  • Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Day of Mourning Fatalities Report: 2011 to 2017.

Note

Selected sectors are those with high fatality rates or counts. Rates are per 100,000 Workplace Safety and Insurance Board covered employment and are calculated based on the number of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board allowed fatalities (year of death) divided by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board covered employment by industry sectors.

Traumatic fatalities—Top events

Top 3 events and other events for traumatic fatalities
Year200920102011201220132014201520162017
Motor vehicle accidents222425373526142127
Falls from heights162012918814910
Crushed by106179163151718
Other events293540243444292526
All events7785947910381727281

Source

  • Workplace Safety and Insurance Board database. Data extracted by the Ministry of Labour. May not exactly match published WSIB data.
  • Ministry of Labour. Provincial traumatic fatalities by year of death 2009-2017.

Notes

  • Provincial traumatic fatalities are not available prior to 2009.
  • The Motor Vehicle Accident fatalities reported in this analysis may include non-traffic accidents.

Occupational disease fatalities

Allowed occupational disease fatalities
Fatality type2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
WSIB occupational disease fatalities (year of entitlement)257261301228222181209212231215
WSIB occupational disease fatalities (year of death)172170174164164141152154136146
Occupational disease fatality rate (per 100,000 workers)2.862.912.932.702.682.262.422.432.122.23

Sources

  • Fatality count – Workplace Safety and Insurance Board By the Numbers 2017, Schedule 1 and 2.
  • Fatality rates – calculated by the Ministry of Labour.
  • Note

    Fatality rates are calculated by dividing the number of reported fatalities by the number of people employed under provincial jurisdiction, as retrieved from the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey 2008 to 2017.

    Occupational disease fatalities—Top sectors

    Top sectors—Occupational disease fatality counts (and rates per 100,000) for schedule 1
    Select sectors*2011-132012-142013-152014-162015-172017 Only
    Construction42 (13.17)45 (12.79)44 (11.66)42 (10.82)40 (9.97)40 (9.46)
    Manufacturing26 (2.86)24 (2.55)22 (2.37)20 (2.14)18 (1.85)14 (1.41)
    Municipal7 (18.86)6 (16.10)7 (16.86)8 (19.24)12 (29.08)16 (36.71)
    Mining8 (27.18)8 (28.40)10 (33.40)9 (31.36)8 (29.17)7 (24.69)
    Primary metals12 (38.58)13 (42.71)12 (39.13)13 (41.76)12 (39.84)13 (43.57)
    All sectors: WSIB occupational disease fatality rates for Ontario: Schedule 1133 (3.13)130 (2.99)127 (2.86)121 (2.67)119 (2.56)121 (2.56)

    Sources

    • By the Numbers: 2017 Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statistical Report Schedule 1.
    • Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Day of Mourning Fatalities Report: 2011 to 2017.

    Note

    Selected sectors are those with high fatality rates or counts. Rates are per 100,000 Workplace Safety and Insurance Board covered employment and are calculated based on the number of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board allowed fatalities (year of death) divided by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board covered employment by industry sectors.

    Small business

    Small businesses as share of total traumatic fatalities, allowed lost-time injury claims and employment (schedule 1)
    Category2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
    WSIB allowed traumatic fatalities (year of incident)61.7%67.8%71.7%50.8%65.6%64.6%71.9%50.9%61.8%51.6%
    WSIB allowed lost-time claims (year of injury/illness)28.2%29.1%29.6%29.9%30.1%31.5%31.7%32.9%31.6%30.6%
    Small businesses: Share of total employment26.8%27.7%27.6%27.1%26.8%27.4%27.4%27.2%27.6%27.2%

    Source

    Workplace Safety and Insurance Board database. Data extracted by the Ministry of Labour. May not exactly match published WSIB data.

    Violence and harassment

    Total violence and harassment- allowed lost-time injuries for schedule 1 and schedule 2
    Year2008200920102011201220132014201520162017
    Total violence and harassment schedule 1—health care627670693650615636676747804846
    Total violence and harassment schedule 1—services176180167141142140130128148188
    Violence and harassment Schedule 1 - Other258236242212197200223218283288
    Violence and harassment—schedule 21,0539991,1091,0791,0401,1001,1611,2631,5211,732
    Violence and harassment claims share of total lost-time claims2.70%3.22%3.67%3.67%3.59%3.81%4.08%4.57%4.80%5.13%

    Source

    Workplace Safety and Insurance Board database. Data extracted by the Ministry of Labour. May not exactly match published WSIB data.

    Note

    Includes “assaults, violent acts, harassment and acts of war or terrorism”. See WSIB’s Open Data downloads page for the source.

    Data limitations and methodology

    The occupational health and safety data in this report is limited by:

    • Ministry of Labour enforcement data may change because of ongoing enforcement activities and investigations.
    • Critical injuries include only those that have been reported to the ministry. The ministry investigates workers covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Critical injuries in the ministry’s database may also include non-workers. If a non-worker is involved in a workplace incident, this must be part of the report. This information represents what was reported to the ministry and may not represent actual events at the workplace. In September 2016 the ministry clarified the legal definition of a critical injury to include fractures of the wrist, hand, ankle, foot, multiple fingers and toes. This clarification, along with a ministry awareness campaign, increased the number of critical injuries reported beginning in 2017.
    • The ministry tracks and reports fatalities at workplaces covered by the OHSA. This excludes deaths from natural causes, death of non-workers, suicides, death as a result of a criminal act or a traffic accident (unless the OHSA is involved) and death from occupational exposures that occurred many years ago.
    • This report is accurate as of the date that data was extracted. Additional records could be added to the source databases after extraction and would not be included.