Legislature death puts focus on suicide in Alberta

Province has seen rate grow alongside increasing levels of unemployment

EDMONTON— A death by suicide on the front steps of Alberta’s legislature Monday has reignited a conversation about a province that experts say is grappling with a rising suicide rate due to a souring economy.

On Monday , a man reportedly used a gun to take his own life on the front steps of the legislature in Edmonton, prompting the adjournment of the house until later that evening. NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman called it a “public, tragic loss of life.”

But while Monday’s incident may be rare due to its public nature, suicide in Alberta has been pushed into the spotlight as of late. The provincial suicide rate is already higher than other provinces, researchers say, and it’s grown alongside the province’s unemployment rate. It’s an issue that Premier Jason Kenney addressed as recently as Saturday during the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting in Calgary.

“The suicide rate in Alberta is 50 per cent higher per capita than the province of Ontario,” Kenney said, before referencing research by the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, which estimates that for every one per cent increase in Alberta’s unemployment rate, there are 16 additional suicides.

“For many, this is literally a matter of life and death,” Kenney said. “So yes, a growing number of Albertans are afraid for our future.”

Edmonton police said they won’t be releasing any further details on Monday’s death, including the person’s identity or motive. They have classified the death as “non-criminal.”

In September, University of Calgary professor Ron Kneebone released a report titled “Suicide and the Economy” that demonstrates a relationship between unemployment and suicide rates in Alberta.

His research, using Statistics Canada numbers from 2000 to 2017, shows a 2.8 per cent increase in suicide rates for every one per cent increase in unemployment. That equates to about 16 more people.

“What (the numbers) should do is just raise awareness that when the economy turns downward, there’s more happening than people simply losing their job,” Kneebone said.

“I would suggest when governments think about public policies, they need to think of all the ramifications about what’s going on. And when the economy turns into a recession, I think it’s a good time for governments to think harder about things like mental health.”

In his report, Kneebone said that while women are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide, men are far more likely to die by suicide. As Kneebone puts it, men choose “nonreversible methods.”

In Alberta, 13.2 out of 100,000 people died by suicide in 2018. In Ontario, the rate was 8.9 people per 100,000.