HIV Cases in Canada Increase by Over 30 Percent

Bottles of the drug Truvada, which reduces the risk of contracting HIV, in a file photograph. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

New HIV diagnoses in Canada surged again in 2023, increasing by more than 30 percent from the previous year, according to government data.

Last year, Canada recorded 2,434 new HIV diagnoses, up 35.2 percent from 2022, the data shows. Most cases resulted from exposure through heterosexual contact, at nearly 40 percent, followed closely by male-to-male contact, at 36 percent. Injection drug use was the third most common category of exposure, accounting for 18.2 percent of new cases.

In 2022, the number of new cases rose 24.5 percent from 2021.

“This upward trend in new HIV diagnoses is the result of many factors, including increased testing following decreased testing rates experienced during the pandemic,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.

Meanwhile, the number of AIDS cases globally has been decreasing, according to a new study from The Lancet medical journal.

New HIV infections decreased by 21.9 percent between 2010 and 2021, while HIV-related deaths dropped by 39.7 percent. The largest declines in both HIV incidence and mortality occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the study said.

Last year, the national rate of HIV diagnoses was 6.1 people per 100,000 population. The rate was higher among males than females, at 8.1 cases and 3.9 cases per 100,000 population, respectively.

HIV infection rates were highest among young Canadians, with the 30 to 39 age group leading at 14.3 cases per 100,000 people. Second most affected were ages 25 to 29, with a rate of 13.9. Canadians aged 40 to 59 had the third-highest rate, at 8.6 cases per 100,000.​

Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported the highest rates of new HIV cases in Canada in 2023, with 19.4 and 19.3 cases per 100,000 people, respectively. Ontario followed with a rate of six cases per 100,000, while Quebec and Alberta shared fourth place at 5.4 cases per 100,000.

In Alberta, the number of reported HIV cases nearly doubled since 2019, and increased 73 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to an annual report by Alberta Health. Approximately half of the cases in 2023 were likely acquired outside of Canada, the report said.

By the end of 2022, there were 65,270 people living with HIV in Canada, according to federal government estimates. Among those diagnosed, 51 percent were men who had sex with men, a quarter were females, and 13 percent reported injecting drugs at least once.

Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. People who contract HIV may not show immediate symptoms, which often resemble mild flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, fatigue, headaches, sore throat, and muscle aches, all of which may disappear in a matter of days or weeks.

HIV-positive people can have long and healthy lives if they receive and stay on treatment.

If left untreated, HIV can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, which is the most advanced stage of the infection. At this point, the body is at risk of contracting life-threatening infections and diseases due to severe damage to the immune system.