SUICIDE IN CANADA

SUICIDE IN CANADA The sudden deaths of hockey player Wade Belak and five young people on a First Nations reserve in northwestern Ontario have once again put suicide back in the spotlight. Suicide crosses all social boundaries, all ages groups and all provinces. SUICIDES BY METHOD IN 2007* Men and women approach suicide very differently. Men commit suicide most often by hanging, jumping or firearms, while women tend to prefer drugs. *2007 is the latest data available from Statisties Canada SUICIDES BY METHOD AND BY GENDER ACTUAL NUMBER O MEN 330 WOMEN 303 513 1,248 O MEN & WOMEN 357 Exposure to drugs Handgun, shotgun, rifle or other firearm 687 58 534 200 Hanging. strangulation and suffocation 16 140 1,551 198 Exposure to gases, vapours, pesticides and other poisons Jumping from a high place Smoke, fire flames Jumping or lying in front of a moving object Using a sharp object 103 64 100 Drowning 66 13 Exposure to solvents Crashing a motor vehicle 10 3,611 Canadians DEAD BY THEIR Exposure to alcohol Other/ unspecified OWN HANDS SUICIDES BY PROVINCE 2007 SUICIDES BY AGE GROUP IN 2007 in 2007* Ontario tops the provinces for total number of suicides, but the suicide rate per 100,000 is highest in our territories. Peak suicide numbers for both men and women seem to occur in their 40s and 50s. (SUICIDE RATE: 11.0 per 100,000 population) SUICIDES BY PROVINCE AND TERRITORY, BY GENDER SUICIDES BY AGE GROUP, BY GENDER ACTUAL NUMBER AND RATE PER 100,000 ACTUAL NUMBER AND RATE PER 100,000 New Brunswick (5.3 rate) 19 Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island (4.5 rate) Age 90+ Age 70-79 1 death (1.1 rate) Quebec 238 deaths Age 80-89 (5.4 rate) Newfoundland and Labrador 3 deaths (1.0 rate) Age 10-19 69 884 women 884 women Age 60-69 79 Ontario 270 deaths (1.9 rate) Nunavut • 5 deaths (27.8 rate) (SUICIDE RATE: 4.9 per 100,000 population) Age 20-29 121 (SUICIDE RATE: 4.9 per 100,00 population) Northwest Territories 2 deaths (10.5 rate) Age 50-59 Manitoba 184 Age 30-39 124 (5.4 rate) Age Alberta g1 rate) British Columbia (5.1 rate) Saskatchewan 132 121 229 (7.3 rate) Age O 90+ New Brunswick (15.0 rate) 61 67 Nova Scotia (13.2 rate) A Prince Edward Island (17.6 rate) Age 80-89 Age 70-79 159 91 Yukon 2 deaths (14.2 rate) Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec 850 deaths 2,727 men Age 60-69 239 (19.3 rate) (20.7 rate) Nunavut (SUICIDE RATE: 15.7 per 100,000 population) 2,727 men (82.1 rate) (SUICIDE RATE: 15.7 per 100,000 population) Northwest Territories 7 deaths (31.3 rate) Age 10-19 50-59 533 Ontario 149 British Columbia 317 deaths 830 deaths (123 rate) (13.6 rate) Age 40-49 Age 20-29 Age 30-39 660 Alberta 331 deaths (17.5 rate) 93 451 436 92 Manitoba (15.4 rate) Saskatchewan (18.0 rate) ATTEMPTED SELF-INJURY BY PROVINCE IN 2011 ATTEMPTED SELF-INJURY BY AGE GROUP IN 2011 People living in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon are far more likely to attempt self-harm than anyone else in Canada. Early in life, more men than women attempt to take their own lives, but later on in life more women attempt self-injury. SELF-INJURY HOSPITALIZATION RATE SELF-INJURY HOSPITALIZATION RATE AGE STANDARDIZED RATE PER 100,000 379 CRUDE RATE PER 100,000 I MEN I WOMEN 100 80 192 197 60 40 77 lila 63 70 61 20 B.C. Alta. Sask. Man. Ont. Que N.B. N.S. P.E.L N.L Yukon N.T. Nvt. 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90+ SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA AND THE CANADIAN INSITTUTE FOR HEALTH INFORMATION KATHRYN BLAZE CARLSON & RICHARD JOHNSON / NATIONAL POST