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

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Detailed statistics on deaths by suicide in Canada.

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Context

Data on deaths from suicide (suicide mortality) helps us make informed decisions about public health programs and policies. The information is used to:

At the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), we work with the Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners from each province and territory. We also work with Statistics Canada. By collaborating, we bring together up-to-date data from across Canada around suicide mortality.

Caution: Use caution when comparing statistics across years and between provinces and territories. There are differences in how sources and regions report data. The data in this report is preliminary and will likely change with future updates.

Refer to Technical notes for more information.

Suicide mortality in Canada

Key findings

Figure 1: Number and rates (per 100,000 population) of suicide mortality in Canada, by province and territory, in

Number of suicide deaths

Figure 1: Notes

Definitions:

Suppressed (Suppr.)
Data from provinces or territories with very few cases are not shown. This is to protect privacy and follow confidentiality rules.
Completed investigations only
Some regions provide data for completed death investigations only. Ongoing investigations are excluded from the data. Because of this, counts may be underestimated. This applies to Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Refer to Definitions of investigations.
Ongoing and completed investigations
The following regions provided numbers for ongoing and completed investigations: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Yukon provided numbers for ongoing and completed investigations. Refer to Definitions of investigations.
  • Data was provided to PHAC from coroner or medical examiner offices or submitted to the Canadian Coroner and Medical Examiner Database (CCMED). Refer to Data sources.
  • Age standardized rates are calculated using the 2011 Canadian population as the standard population.
Figure 1: Text description

Figure 2: of suicide mortality in Canada, by

Figure 2: Notes

The dashed trend lines between 2022 and 2023 show where data is preliminary and most likely to change.

Figure 2: Text description

Definitions

Suicide
Deaths where the coroner or medical examiner determined the person intentionally ended their own life. This includes ongoing investigations where the manner of death was thought to be suicide.
Death investigations
Coroners and medical examiners may investigate a death to understand how and why it occurred. A death investigation falls under the following categories:
  • Ongoing
    • The manner of death is believed to be suicide. The investigation is open and not finalized. Coroners and medical examiners continue to collect information. Data are considered preliminary and subject to change.
  • Completed
    • Coroners and medical examiners have collected all available information. They have concluded the manner of death is suicide. The time required to complete an investigation and related administration varies. It can range from approximately 3 to 24 months.
Province or territory of death
The province or territory where the death occurred.
Year of death
The date when the death occurred. When the date of death was not available, the date when the deceased person was found or the date when the coroner or medical examiner was notified of the death was used.
MAID
Cases of MAID are excluded from suicide mortality data and not reflected in this report.

Acknowledgment

This report places an emphasis on data. As such, it can appear to depersonalise the pain and loss behind the statistics. It cannot adequately reflect the burden borne by Canadians. PHAC acknowledges the individuals, families and, communities affected by suicide in Canada.

This report and its updates would not be possible without the collaboration and dedication of provincial and territorial offices of Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners.

Technical notes

Notes about the data and sources used in this report.

Data sources

This report presents data from 2 different sources. There may be differences in the data between the sources.

Canadian Coroner and Medical Examiner Database (CCMED)

CCMED is a collaboration between:

The most recent suicide mortality data came from CCMED on the following dates:

Coroner and medical examiner data

Coroners and medical examiners investigate sudden and unexpected deaths. They follow the Fatalities Act for their province or territory.

Suicide mortality data was submitted to PHAC directly by chief coroner or chief medical examiner offices for:

Data for Manitoba, Saskatchewan British Colombia and Yukon were submitted to PHAC between the months of April and July 2024. Data for Alberta and Nunavut were submitted in October 2024.

Data limitations and considerations

Data presented in this report should be interpreted with caution.

Preliminary data

Deaths referred to a coroner or medical examiner can take time to be fully investigated. Some data in this report are based on ongoing investigations. They are considered preliminary and subject to change. Some deaths at the end of each calendar year may not be registered until the following year. The counts for the latest available year (2023) generally underestimate the actual number of deaths from that year.

To improve the accuracy of national suicide statistics, PHAC will update this report on a regular basis. Updates apply to suicide deaths for the latest available year and for past years in the report. Data may be updated multiple times. We expect that the yearly count of suicide deaths will increase with updates.

Data differences

Data released by provinces and territories on official websites may differ from the data in this report due to a variety of conditions including:

Reporting timelines can also cause differences in the number of reported suicide deaths. There is a minimum delay of 12 months in national annual reporting by Statistics Canada. Reporting for many provincial and territorial jurisdictions is more timely.

Small populations

Crude and age-standardized rates for regions with relatively small populations may vary greatly between years. Slight changes in the number of deaths can change these rates substantially. Caution is advised when making comparisons across years.

Data is supressed in this report based on the preferences of individual provinces or territories. Data is supressed when there is a small count for a region. As a general guideline, counts under 5 will be suppressed.

Sex

For most provinces and territories, data on the sex of the individual were based on biological characteristics or legal documentation.

More information

Suggested citation

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

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