Suicide

Suicide is a leading cause of death in Canada, taking approximately 4,500 lives each year. Suicide is preventable; effective interventions reduce risk substantially. Free 24-hour Canadian crisis support is available; this page provides crisis resources, prevention information, and support for survivors of suicide loss.

Overview

If you are having thoughts of suicide right now, free 24-hour Canadian crisis support is immediately available:

9-8-8 — Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text). Free, 24/7, available across Canada.
1-833-456-4566 — Talk Suicide Canada (call); text 45645, 4 PM–midnight ET.
1-800-668-6868 — Kids Help Phone (under 20).
1-855-242-3310 — Hope for Wellness Helpline (Indigenous-led, 24/7).
1-800-883-6094 — Veterans Affairs Canada Assistance Service (24/7).
911 or local emergency department if you are in immediate danger.

Suicide is the act of intentionally ending one’s own life. It is a major Canadian public-health issue and a leading cause of death. Approximately 4,500 Canadians die by suicide each year — more than 12 deaths per day. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for Canadians ages 15-34. Suicide rates are substantially elevated in certain populations: older men (highest rates in Canada), Indigenous youth in some regions (rates several times the national average), LGBTQ+ youth, military veterans, healthcare and first-responder professionals, and individuals with mental illness.

Suicide is preventable. Evidence-based suicide prevention substantially reduces suicide rates: means restriction (firearms safety, medication safety), treatment of underlying mental illness, crisis services (988, Talk Suicide Canada), safety planning, follow-up after suicide attempts, and broader public-health approaches all reduce suicide. The 2016 launch of Canada’s Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention and the 2023 launch of Canada’s 9-8-8 line reflect coordinated public-health response.

This page is provided as a crisis-resource and educational page. For information specifically about suicidal thoughts, see our suicidal thoughts page. For information about self-harm and suicide attempts, see our self-harming or suicidal behaviour page.

Suicide loss survivors — those bereaved by suicide of family members or close others — face distinctive grief responses including elevated rates of complicated grief, depression, PTSD, and substantially elevated risk of own suicide. Specialized support for suicide loss is available; recovery is possible with appropriate support.

Signs and symptoms

Acute warning signs of suicide — Talking about wanting to die or kill oneself; looking for ways to die (online, asking about means); writing about death or suicide; talking about being a burden; talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain; increasing alcohol or drug use; behaving anxiously or recklessly; sleeping too little or too much; withdrawing or feeling isolated; expressing rage or revenge; displaying extreme mood swings; saying goodbye; giving away possessions; sudden calm after distressed period.
Warning signs in adolescents and young adults — Same as above plus: school avoidance, declining performance, peer-group changes, social-media changes, posts hinting at suicide.
Warning signs in older adults — Same as above plus: recent diagnosis of serious illness, recent loss of partner or close friend, retirement, isolation, declining physical capacity.
High-risk situations — Recent psychiatric hospitalization (highest risk in days/weeks after discharge), recent suicide attempt, recent acute stressor, recent loss of important relationship, public exposure event.

Diagnostic context

Suicide is an act, not a DSM-5-TR diagnosis. Suicidal behaviour, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts are addressed in DSM-5-TR through:

Suicidal ideation as a symptom criterion in major depressive episode and other conditions.
Suicidal behaviour Disorder (Section III) — research category for individuals who have made a suicide attempt within 24 months.
Risk assessment as a clinical activity (not a diagnosis) integrated into mental-health evaluation.

Comprehensive suicide risk assessment includes evaluation of ideation, intent, plan, means access, prior attempts, mental-health history, current stressors, social support, protective factors, and demographic risk factors. Validated instruments include Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, Patient Safety Planning Intervention.

Causes and risk factors

Suicide arises from interaction of multiple factors. Suicide is multidetermined; rarely attributable to a single cause:

Mental illness: approximately 90% of suicide deaths involve mental illness, most commonly mood disorders (50%), substance use disorders (25-50%), psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and PTSD. Untreated and inadequately treated mental illness substantially elevates risk.

Demographic risk factors:

Older men have highest suicide rates in Canada — driven by combination of mental illness, social isolation, chronic illness, means access (firearms), and lower help-seeking.
Indigenous youth in some regions have suicide rates 5-10x national average — driven by historical and ongoing colonial trauma, social conditions, lack of culturally appropriate services.
LGBTQ+ youth have substantially elevated risk — driven by family rejection, bullying, minority stress, and lack of affirming services.
Military veterans, particularly with PTSD or moral injury.
Healthcare workers and first responders.
Individuals recently discharged from psychiatric care.

Acute precipitants: recent loss (relationship, financial, job, status), legal problems, public humiliation, traumatic event, recent discharge from psychiatric care, anniversaries of significant losses.

Means access: firearm presence in home substantially elevates suicide death rates; access to lethal medications and other lethal means similarly.

Prior attempts: the strongest single predictor of subsequent suicide; approximately 10-15% of attempters eventually die by suicide.

Family history: suicide aggregates in families even when controlling for mental illness.

Childhood adversity: ACE exposure substantially elevates lifetime suicide risk.

Substance use: alcohol and other substances elevate impulsivity, lethality of attempts, and depressive states.

Hopelessness: persistent hopelessness — sense that problems are inescapable, intolerable, interminable — is one of the strongest cognitive predictors.

Suicide loss: being bereaved by suicide of close other substantially elevates risk; clusters and contagion effects are documented, particularly in adolescents.

Typical treatments

Effective suicide prevention combines clinical, community, and policy interventions:

Clinical interventions:

Treatment of underlying mental illness (mood disorders, substance use, psychosis, PTSD, BPD).
Safety planning (Stanley & Brown protocol) — structured plan for warning signs, coping, contacts.
Means restriction counselling — firearms safety, medication safety.
DBT for chronic suicidality, particularly with BPD.
CBT for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP).
Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS).
Lithium for mood disorders (unique anti-suicide effects).
Clozapine for schizophrenia (unique anti-suicide effects).
Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression with suicidality.
Brief contact intervention after suicide attempts (caring contacts) — substantial evidence for reducing subsequent suicide.
Structured follow-up after psychiatric discharge.

Community-based interventions:

Crisis lines (988, Talk Suicide Canada) — strong evidence for short-term distress reduction; saves lives.
Mobile crisis teams.
School-based suicide prevention programs.
Workplace suicide prevention programs (particularly first responders, healthcare).
Gatekeeper training (training community members to recognize and respond to suicide risk).
Peer support programs.

Policy and population-level interventions:

Means restriction policy (firearms regulations have substantial impact on suicide rates).
Bridge barriers and other physical means restriction.
Responsible media reporting (Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide).
Universal access to mental-health care.
Indigenous-led, culturally specific suicide prevention.
LGBTQ+-specific support services.

The 2016 Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention and the 2023 launch of 988 reflect coordinated Canadian public-health response to suicide.

When to seek help

If you are having thoughts of suicide right now, free 24-hour Canadian crisis support is immediately available — see crisis numbers at the top of this page.

Professional support is indicated when:

You are having thoughts of suicide.
You have made a suicide attempt — recent or in the past — and are continuing to struggle.
You have a mental-health condition that elevates risk.
You are recently bereaved by suicide and are struggling.
You are concerned about a friend or family member.
You are in a high-risk demographic (older man, LGBTQ+ youth, Indigenous youth, military veteran, recently discharged from psychiatric care).

Specific resources:

Centre for Suicide Prevention (suicideinfo.ca) — Canadian resources for individuals, families, professionals.
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (suicideprevention.ca).
Survivors of Suicide Loss programs — provincial and local; structured support for those bereaved by suicide.
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline.
Talk Suicide Canada (1-833-456-4566).
Hope for Wellness Helpline (1-855-242-3310, Indigenous-led).
Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868).

For families and friends concerned about someone: ask directly about suicide; listen without judgment; help them connect to crisis resources or take them to emergency department; remove or secure lethal means; involve other supports; maintain contact over time. Mental Health First Aid training available across Canada provides comprehensive skills for responding to mental-health crises including suicide.

Survivors of suicide loss: grief after suicide is often complicated by guilt, anger, and stigma. Specialized support is available — survivor groups, individual therapy with suicide-loss expertise, peer support. Suicide loss substantially elevates the survivor’s own suicide risk; support matters.

Frequently asked questions

Can suicide be prevented?

Yes. Evidence-based suicide prevention substantially reduces suicide rates. Means restriction, treatment of mental illness, crisis services, safety planning, post-attempt follow-up, and broader public-health interventions all reduce suicide. Most people who survive a suicide attempt do not die by suicide.

What should I do if I think someone is suicidal?

Ask directly: "Are you having thoughts of suicide?" Listen without judgment. Stay with the person. Help them connect to crisis resources (988 in Canada). Take them to emergency department if necessary. Remove or secure lethal means. Involve other supports. Continue contact afterward. Asking about suicide does not increase risk; avoiding the topic is more dangerous.

Why do older men have the highest suicide rates?

Multiple factors: chronic illness and physical decline; loss of partner, friends, social roles; depression that often goes undiagnosed; lower help-seeking; means access (firearms); social isolation; the "double bind" of masculine norms that discourage emotional expression. Recognition and intervention in older men is a public-health priority.

Is talking about suicide in the media harmful?

It depends on how it is done. Sensational coverage, detailed method description, and presentation as inevitable can produce contagion effects. Responsible coverage following Reporting on Suicide guidelines (suicidereportingtoolkit.com) — focus on prevention, including crisis resources, avoiding details — is associated with positive effects.

I lost someone to suicide — how do I cope?

Suicide loss grief is complicated by guilt, anger, stigma, and trauma. Specialized support is available — survivor of suicide loss groups, individual therapy with suicide-loss expertise. Suicide loss substantially elevates the survivor's own suicide risk; reaching out for support matters.

Can someone really change their mind about suicide?

Yes. Suicidal crisis is typically time-limited; impulsive decisions during acute crisis are common. Means restriction during acute crisis substantially reduces deaths because the impulse passes. Most people who survive serious suicide attempts (e.g., bridge jumps that they survived) report that they regretted the decision in the moment of the attempt or shortly after.

References

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2023). Suicide in Canada: Key statistics.
Mann, J. J., et al. (2021). Improving suicide prevention through evidence-based strategies: A systematic review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 178(7), 611–624.
Centre for Suicide Prevention (Canada). (n.d.). Resources for individuals, families, and clinicians.
Stone, D. M., et al. (2017). Preventing suicide: A technical package of policy, programs, and practices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Government of Canada. (2016). Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention.

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ShiftGrit Psychology & Counselling is professionally regulated, certified, and recognized by leading psychology and mental-health organizations across Alberta and Canada. These associations reflect our commitment to ethical practice, clinical standards, and evidence-informed therapy through Identity-Level Therapy and Reconditioning.

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ShiftGrit Clinical Editorial Team

The ShiftGrit Clinical Editorial Team combines the insight of registered psychologists, provisional psychologists, and trained writers to create accessible, evidence-informed therapy resources. All content is clinically reviewed by a Registered Psychologist.