Mental health and suicide prevention in men: Evidence brief

Of the estimated 4,000 suicide deaths in Canada each year, 75 per cent are men. Suicide is the country’s second leading cause of death for men aged 15-39 (after accidental death). Research into sex differences in suicidal behaviour has revealed a gender paradox, wherein men are more likely to die by suicide, and women are more like to attempt it. Between 1981 and 2017, men consistently had higher mortality rates due to suicide compared to women. During this time, the average “male-to-female ratio” of suicide deaths was 3.4:1, meaning that men died by suicide on average 3.4 times as often as women. These disproportionately high rates have not only been observed across time, but also across the lifespan, where men’s rates of suicide are consistently higher than women at all ages.