Suicide, self-harm, and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: Key statistics

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General information on suicide and suicide-related behaviours in Canada.

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This page presents statistics on suicide and suicide-related behaviours, and some people might find it upsetting or disturbing.

If you or someone you care about is in crisis or immediate danger, call 9-1-1.

Resources and confidential support for suicide prevention and mental health are also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

Context

Suicide is a significant public health issue recognized by the World Health Organization and the government of Canada. Among people aged 15 to 34, suicide was the second leading cause of death.

Canada’s first National Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2024-2027 (the Action Plan) sets an overall direction for action in the key areas of data and monitoring, research and evaluation, supports and services and governance. In support of the Action Plan, the Public Health Agency of Canada will continue to monitor progress of suicide prevention efforts and will use tools such as the Suicide Surveillance Indicator Framework (SSIF) to monitor the overall progress and impact over the course of this Action Plan.

This data blog complements the Action Plan by providing more information to stakeholders and the public. This keeps them better informed and improves access to the latest statistics on suicide in Canada.

Learn more:

Latest statistics

This section summarizes the information on:

For every person who has died by suicide, many more have:


Every year in Canada, there are approximately:

Notes
  • These statistics come from multiple sources:
    • Data on the number of deaths by suicide is from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database.
    • Data on the number of self-harm hospitalizations is from the Canadian Institute of Health Information.
    • Data on suicide attempts, suicide plans, and thoughts of suicide is from the Canadian Community Health Surveys.
  • The number of deaths by suicide excludes Yukon.
  • The number of self-harm hospitalizations includes people aged 10 years and older from all provinces and territories.
  • These 3 categories include people aged 15 years and older from all provinces and territories:
    • People who reported having attempted suicide.
    • People who made suicide plans.
    • People who had serious thoughts of suicide.
Figure: Text description

Every year in Canada, there are approximately:

  • 4,500 deaths by suicide (this corresponds to 12 deaths by suicide every day)
  • 20,000 hospitalizations due to self-harm
  • 100,000 people who made a suicide attempt
  • 250,000 people who made suicide plans
  • 840,000 people who had serious thoughts of suicide

Suicide mortality

Outlines of a male and a female.

In Canada, suicide mortality rates are:

  • higher among males than females
  • higher in middle-aged males than other age groups for males

Suicide mortality rates have remained stable since 2008; however, an upward trend is seen for 2022. Continued monitoring will be essential to determine whether these changes persist over time.

Self-harm hospitalizations

Each year, thousands of people in Canada are hospitalized after intentionally harming themselves. Non-fatal self-harm injuries are a significant risk factor for suicide, and monitoring hospitalizations for self-harm is critical for suicide prevention.

A side-profile outline of a bed, with a cross in a circle above it.

Self-harm hospitalization rates are higher among females than males.

Females aged 10 to 19 years old have the highest rate among all age groups and for both sexes.

A curving dotted line connecting two location pin symbols.

Rates of hospitalizations for self-harm vary by geographic location.

They are 6.5 times higher in very remote areas compared to urban areas.

Suicide-related behaviours

Other types of suicide-related behaviours include:

A simple outline of a human head, with the outline of a cloud and raindrop where the person's brain would be.

During their lifetime, many people in Canada aged 15 and older will experience suicide-related behaviours.

  • Almost 1 million will attempt suicide.
  • 1.3 million will make suicide plans.
  • 3.8 million will have serious thoughts of suicide.
An outline of a person with storm clouds around their crown emitting rain and lightning.

Among people aged 15 to 19 years old, rates of suicide-related behaviours are higher in females than in males. Compared to males:

  • suicide attempts are 5 times higher in females
  • suicide plans are almost 4 times higher in females
  • serious thoughts of suicide are 2 times higher in females

Suicide affects all groups in the population, but some have substantially higher risk of:

Simple outlines of 6 people, with one outline larger than the rest.

People who are more likely to experience suicidal ideation than others are those:

  • born in Canada
  • who never married
  • younger than 65 years
  • with a lower level of education
An outline of two hands clasping each other.

Compared to heterosexual and cisgender populations, people who are 2SLGBTQI+ are more likely to:

  • make suicide attempts
  • make suicide plans
  • have thoughts of suicide

Suggested citation

Public Health Agency of Canada. Suicide, self-harm and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: .... Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; ....

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