M A N I T OB A | 2019 EDIT ION

DROWNING Report
Prepared for the Lifesaving Society by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada

This infographic summarizes the MANITOBA WATER-RELATED FATALITIES AND DEATH RATES, 2007-2016
most recent data on water-related 40
30 27 31 Number of
fatalities available from the Office of 20 22 20 20 21 Deaths / Year
12
the Chief Medical Examiner for Death Rate per
Manitoba. With the exception of the 3.2 100,000 / Year
2.5 2.2 2.4
1.7 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6
first chart, all data refers to the most 0.9
current five-year period, 2012-2016.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

 WHO IS DROWNING? Age: 0-4 Age: 15-19 Age: 65+

13% 9% 15%
(3.4 )
* (2.1*) (1.7*)

81% male 19% female * Death Rate per 100,000 / Year

 WHERE?  WHEN?

71%
RIVER
LAKE/POND 39%
38% OF DROWNINGS
OTHER OCCURRED FROM
8% DROWNING IN
A LIFEGUARD
5% 10% SUPERVISED SETTING MAY to SEP
BATHTUB DITCH
<2%
  WHAT WERE THEY DOING?
WATER-RELATED FATALITIES BY MOST
COMMON RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY
LAND,
ICE OR AIR BOATING NON-AQUATIC AQUATIC
18%
TRANSPORTATION

19% 20% 20% Swimming

Walking/
31%

Running/Playing 24%
Near Water

Fishing 12%
Powerboat 47% Power Boating 9%
Canoe 26% Canoeing 5%

 WHY? RISK FACTORS

CHILDREN YOUNG ADULTS OLDER ADULTS

100% 91%

95%
of cases
where 71% 61%
known
59%
Supervision Absent 39%
or Distracted

BOATING SWIMMING
Not Wearing a PFD
86%
Alcohol Consumption
58%
Alone 44%
32% 22% 22%
Weak or Non-Swimmer

METHODS: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: CONTACT US:

Water-related death data is extracted from the office of the Chief
Coroner or Medical Examiner for each province and territory.
Data is collected for all deaths resulting from incidents “in, on or
near” water. “Near water” incidents were included if the intent
was closely related to water-based recreational, vocational or
daily living activity. The data includes only unintentional deaths,
not deaths due to natural causes, suicide, or homicide.
We gratefully acknowledge the support, co-operation and efforts of:
- The Chief Coroner’s and Medical Examiner’s Offices in each
province/territory, who permitted and facilitated confidential
access to coroner’s reports on unintentional water-related deaths.
- The volunteers who contributed their time and energy
to extract data from the files.
The Drowning Prevention Research Centre is the lead
agency for drowning and water-incident research in Canada.
Tel: 416-490-8844, Email: experts@drowningresearch.ca
Lifesaving Society Manitoba
Tel: 204-956-2124, Email: info@lifesaving.mb.ca
www.lifesaving.mb.ca