Nearly 1 in 4 Teens in Canada Considers Suicide, Yet Schools Remain Silent
Imagine looking around your kid’s classroom and realizing something deeply unsettling:
One in four students sitting there has seriously thought about suicide.
This isn’t a hypothetical. It’s real, and it’s happening right now across Canada. And you can bet the numbers in the US and UK are very similar.
A recent Mental Health Research Canada report revealed that 24% of youth have experienced suicidal thoughts. Even worse, suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Canadian youth.
And yet, schools continue to avoid open conversations about suicide and mental health, hoping silence somehow keeps students safe.
But silence isn’t safe. It’s deadly.
Why Silence Isn’t Safety
When my daughter Maddie died by suicide at just 14, our community was stunned. Parents and teachers kept repeating the same heartbreaking phrase:
"We had no idea."
They didn’t know Maddie was struggling because we weren’t openly discussing those difficult conversations, at home or school. The silence around suicide and mental health didn’t protect Maddie; it isolated her. It made it harder for her to ask for help, because she feared how others might react.
The uncomfortable truth:
Avoiding conversations about suicide doesn’t keep teens safe.
Talking openly and honestly does.
The Conversations We’re Not Having, But Need To
Most schools still worry that talking about suicide could "plant the idea" in students' heads. Or could the motivation be legal? You start having conversations about suicide, and one student dies by suicide. Who wants the exposure of a wrongful death lawsuit? Ironically, how many deaths could have been prevented by talking openly along the way?
But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Research repeatedly confirms that directly discussing suicide and mental health actually lowers the risk. Students who feel safe talking openly are less likely to feel alone, stigmatized, or misunderstood.
Yet, our schools still treat suicide like a taboo topic, something to be whispered about quietly, behind closed doors.
We hold assemblies on resilience or self-care, but when it comes to suicide, addiction, or trauma, the room falls silent. Hard truths require hard conversations. Trust me, from someone who has faced the ultimate truth, and paid the price of a child who died by suicide.
Why Schools Still Avoid the Tough Conversations
Schools often feel trapped by outdated fears. They worry about:
Upsetting parents
Liability concerns
Triggering students who are already vulnerable
But silence sends its own dangerous message:
Your struggles should be hidden.
You’re alone.
You can’t talk about these things here.
Is this really the message we want our youth to internalize?
Real Solutions: What Schools Need to Do Differently
Youth mental health programs must evolve from well-meaning but ineffective assemblies to meaningful solutions. Here’s how we can start fixing this right now:
✅ Encourage Open Conversations
Normalize talking openly about suicide, depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles—without fear of judgment or stigma.
✅ Empower Peer-to-Peer Support
Peer-led programs and discussion groups have proven effective because teens trust each other. Training young people to support peers could help them succeed where adults haven’t.
✅ Provide Accessible Professional Help
Hire more trained mental health professionals at schools. Waiting months for support doesn’t help anyone; it only worsens things.
✅ Involve Youth in Program Design
Youth understand their needs best. Involve them in developing programs that actually resonate. They’re more thoughtful about mental health than ever before.
We Can’t Afford to Wait
Waiting for governments, school boards, or administrators to take action hasn’t worked. Youth mental health indicators have only worsened in recent years.
It’s up to us: parents, teachers, and community leaders, to step up.
Talk openly at home.
Demand your schools prioritize mental health in meaningful, actionable ways.
Insist that your school includes youth voices when creating mental health programs.
When it comes to our kids’ lives, silence is no longer an option.
Start the Conversation Today
Look at your teen.
Look at their friends.
If one in four are silently struggling with thoughts of suicide, then silence is no longer an option, it’s a crisis.
Let’s start the conversation today. It might just save a life.
Your Turn:
Have you discussed suicide openly with your teen? What challenges have you faced, and what’s helped?
I’ve talked to a number of parents who have said they wouldn’t know what to say. Is it a conversation worth having?
