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.

However, Alberta’s specific economic context offers a variety of risk factors.

According to the report, while women are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide, men are far more likely to die by suicide because, as Kneebone puts it, men choose “nonreversible methods.”

Alberta’s economy, Grunau said, is based largely in “hypermasculine” work environments, such as the energy sector and agriculture.

Not only are men overrepresented in these industries — with a 2018 Petroleum Labour Market Information report estimating women make up only one-fifth of the total oil and gas workforce — Grunau said “all of those industries require men to work long, hard hours in very demanding conditions that require all kinds of physical strength and isolation. That’s a bad combination.”

Therefore, she said economic pressures impacting Alberta’s economy, such as the price of oil or trade tariffs, disproportionately affect men.

“This is a man’s recession in Alberta because the industries that are being hit are male-dominated,” Grunau said.

At the same time, Grunau said men are often socialized to sacrifice personal relationships in exchange for advancing their careers, meaning that when a middle-aged man loses their job, they feel like they have lost everything.

“They are pressured to work more, they put pressure on themselves to work more and they don’t make time for investment in social relationships. The relationships that they do have are not ones where they feel like they can ask for help. We socialize men to not ask for help, and then they don’t have the people right there who know how to offer help. It’s a vicious circle,” Grunau said.

In his report, Kneebone said studies have shown investing in social welfare can literally save lives.

“Good, focused investments in social welfare systems seem to have a real strong influence on reducing people choosing to die by suicide,” Kneebone said.

Grunau agreed, saying she hopes a pledge from the Alberta government to commit $100 million over the next four years to mental health and addiction services includes supporting these kinds of preventative measures.

On an individual level, Grunau said prevention starts by taking notice of mood or behavioural changes in those close to us, and having the confidence to initiate conversations about how they are really feeling.

“It’s really easy to say, ‘If you are in crisis, ask for help,’ and it is almost impossible for the person to do,” Grunau said.

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“Be as specific as you can,” she said — including not being afraid to ask if someone has considered suicide.

“It is so hard to ask that question, but by doing it, you lift the burden from the person because all they have to say is, ‘Yes.’ You don’t have to solve their problem. Chances are you can’t solve their problem, so don’t try to, because that just makes everyone else feel worse. Just hold a space for them,” she said.

If you or someone you know is having a mental health issue, Grunau said Albertans can call the province-wide mental health line at 1-877-303-2642 for around-the-clock confidential help and crisis intervention.

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