Are there lessons that can be learned from cases of student suicide in Quebec?

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According to the World Health Organization, more than 720,000 people around the world die by suicide every year. Among young adults aged 15 to 29, it is the third leading cause of death. . In Quebec, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) notes that the adjusted suicide rate is 12.0 per 100,000 people. University students are unfortunately among those affected. In a 2019 Quebec Student Union study, nine per cent of surveyed students reported having suicidal thoughts. To better understand this phenomenon, we obtained reports from the Quebec coroner’s office on deaths by suicide between 2014 and 2021. The reports identified 11 cases involving Quebec university students. We analyzed those cases using a chart to identify certain variables (age, sex, nationality, place of death, method of suicide, program of study and medical histories of those affected).

What the coroner’s reports revealed

While presenting all of our findings is beyond the scope of this article, some key facts emerged from our analysis. The coroner’s reports showed that 72.7 per cent of the students who died by suicide were women, while 81.8 per cent were between 20 and 27 years of age. 81.8 per cent of the students showed certain risk factors for suicide, including depression (36.4 per cent), suicidal thoughts (27.2 per cent), anxiety (9.1 per cent), domestic violence (9.1 per cent), financial problems (38.4 per cent), loneliness (27.2 per cent), use of illicit substances (18.2 per cent) and alcohol dependence (9.1 per cent).

Academic problems, especially failing grades and poor overall performance, were identified in about 50 per cent of cases. Some coroner’s reports noted the culture of high performance deeply woven into certain university programs. Even some evaluation metrics can contribute to anxiety, competition and exclusion in certain programs.

Insights from other studies

These findings contrast with some studies that found a higher rate of suicide among men in the general population. In the Quebec university context, the over-representation of women among students who have died by suicide may be explained by the fact that more women are enrolled in universities (Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2020).

Academic challenges — identified as a risk factor present in 50 per cent of death by suicide cases — also affect students outside of Quebec. In Japan, a 2017 study by Uchida and Uchida showed that students facing academic difficulties were at greater risk of death by suicide. Likewise, a 2021 study by McLaughlin and Gunnell showed that students in the United Kingdom were at greater risk of death by suicide following academic failures or interruptions in their school work. These studies suggest that academic pressures can contribute significantly to mental health challenges among students.

What can we learn from these tragedies?

Each death by suicide is far more than a mere statistic; it is a life and potential cut too short. Loved ones are left without answers. Though deaths by suicide seem to occur under a veil of silence, they represent cries that must be heard. This invisible suffering is often overlooked inside academic institutions.

Universities need to offer more than simple prevention measures. They must create environments where each student feels seen, heard and supported. It’s not enough to merely provide resources. A culture of compassion and solidarity must be cultivated on campuses.

Balancing academic performance with compassion

Academic culture has historically been focused on achievement and performance, replete with values, rituals and symbols like efficiency, excellence and self-sacrifice. Academia generates amazing discoveries and ideas, but it can also engender problems like mental illness, competition and intimidation among students and staff.

Concrete measures should be implemented to introduce more compassion into this culture at every level of academia. Examples include providing students with information and tools about mental health; calling on professors and staff to contribute to a culture of compassion; training professors and staff to identify and support students in distress and to point them to the right resources; strengthening and growing mental health resources to prevent, intervene in, and follow up after student suicide; establishing continuity of service with health and social services networks; and adopting institutional policies and regulations. To that end, the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur has developed its Plan d’action sur la santé mentale étudiante en enseignement supérieur (2021–2026) to encourage higher education institutions to implement (among other measures) prevention and support tools to recognize and reduce risk factors for suicide.

Our society has a responsibility to our youth. We must ensure that universities remain places where students can not only learn, but also thrive, even among challenges.

These 11 Quebec students serve as a stark reminder that behind each academic record is a human being. To ensure our young people don’t view death as the only solution, we must listen and understand — and above all, act. Preventing suicide is everyone’s responsibility. How will you contribute?

Julie Lane, associate professor at Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) and co-director of the Observatoire sur la santé mentale étudiante en enseignement supérieur (OSMÉES); Eric-Gustave Bizimana, doctoral student at UdeS and research assistant with OSMÉES; Marie-Claude Laquerre, student ombudsman at UdeS; and Marylène Dionne, administrative coordinator for the ombudsman team at UdeS.