Suicide Statistics for Youth
Youth Suicide Rates
Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for people of all ages. In 2019, it ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in Canada. Among those aged 15 to 34, suicide was the second leading cause of death, preceded only by accidents (unintentional injuries).
Because they do not generally die from natural causes, suicide represents a relatively large percentage of all deaths for younger age groups (15 to 34).
In 2019, 203 individuals aged 15 to 19 died by suicide. This represented almost a quarter (23%) of all deaths in this age group, up from 9% in 1974. The relatively higher proportion of suicide deaths for this age group is due to the decline in overall mortality rates, a trend driven mainly by declines in accidental deaths which continue to be the leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 19. [Ref: Suicide Rates: An Overview (Statistics Canada), 2019]