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. The provincial suicide rate is already higher than other provinces, researchers say, and it’s grown alongside the province’s unemployment rate. 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. The average rate of suicide across Canada in 2018 was 10.3 per 100,000 people, putting Alberta on the higher end of the spectrum. Mara Grunau, executive director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention in Calgary, said that while suicide is linked to unemployment, suicide rates have remained relatively flat in Alberta over the last decade.

Source: thestar December 04, 2019 00:45 UTC