Suicide Deaths in Alberta due to increase Unemployment

Edmonton

Sixteen more Albertans die by suicide for every one per cent increase in unemployment, report finds

By Claire TheobaldStar Edmonton

Fri., Sept. 27, 2019timer3 min. read

CALGARY—For every one per cent increase in Alberta’s unemployment rate, 16 more people will die by suicide, according to a new report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

“There’s lots of causes behind the choice to commit suicide,” said Ron Kneebone, professor in the School of Public Policy and author of the “Suicide and the Economy” report, released Friday, “but the economy is one and it seems to be a significant one.”

According to Kneebone, every one per cent increase in the unemployment rate in Alberta correlates with a 2.8 per cent increase in the suicide rate.

Alberta’s suicide rate is already significantly higher than other provinces, Kneebone said.

“In 2017, for example, in Alberta, if you take 100,000 people, 15 of those 100,000 people will choose to commit suicide, whereas in Ontario, it’s only about 10 people,” said Kneebone, adding the suicide rate averaged across Canada is 11.4 per 100,000 people.

Mara Grunau, executive director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention in Calgary, said the report is “astounding.”

“Everyone should stand up and look at that,” Grunau said.

Grunau said people rarely choose to die by suicide because of one tragic event, but unemployment can be the “camel straw” that pushes someone over the edge.