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Canada Bucks Suicide Rate
By
Bob Orrick
It seems that almost daily, someone somewhere is conducting a study into something. Many, perhaps most, of the studies are worthwhile and provide information that people can use to better their lives in some manner. A recent report out of Australia - Sydney University - commented that a study in that country determined that people commit suicide more often when a conservative government is in power. The study and an editorial on the research were published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study in the 'land down under' looked at suicide rates between 1900 and 2000 in New South Wales state and compared them to the prevailing political climate. When a Liberal or National party was in power in either the nation's capital or in a state capital, men were 17 per cent more likely to commit suicide than when a Labour party was at the helm. The rate for women was 40 per cent.
A similar study in Britain - Bristol University - determined that suicide rates rose when Conservative Margaret Thatcher was resident at Number 10 Downing Street and fell slightly when more moderate John Major, also a conservative, succeeded Lady Thatcher. Interestingly, the British rate rose 17 per cent in the month following Princess Diana's death in Paris.
Statistics suggest that the opposite is true in Canada where more Canadians take their own lives when a Liberal government is in Ottawa. Statistics Canada figures show that the suicide rate in 1956, the last full year that Liberal Louis St. Laurent was PM, the rate was 7.62 per 100,000 people. When Conservative John Diefenbaker swept to power in 1957 [Remember the 'Follow John' campaign with blue coloured footsteps on the sidewalks?], the rate dipped to 7.50 per 100,000 and continued to dip until it reached 7.10 in 1959. It then rose and dipped slightly until 1963.
When Liberal Lester 'Mike' Pearson took over, the suicide rate stood at 7.59 per 100,000 people. One year later, the rate had risen to 8.22 and continued to climb under successive Liberal administrations and hit double digits - 10.91 - in 1969 after P.E. Trudeau became prime minister and rose to 14.5 in 1978.
When Trudeau was ousted and Joe Clark took the office in 1979, the suicide rate fell to 13.87 and dropped to 13.70 in Clark's brief stint as PM. When Trudeau again stood atop the national political heap, the rate jumped up to 14.80 per 100,000 in 1983, the highest level since 1950.
When Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives held sway after the 1984 federal general election, the suicide rate dropped to 13.43 and slipped back and forth between 12 and 13 per 100,000 during the Conservative's term of office.
Since 1993, when the Liberals were returned to office, the rate has moved up and down between a high of 13.52 in 1995 to a low of 12.23 in 1998.
An interesting thought: If the Canadian suicide rate rises when a liberal party is in power and falls when a conservative party sits in Ottawa, imagine what the rate might be under a real socialist government such as the NDP. Interesting, eh wot?
Mark this as a bit of trivia that passes as a conversation opener at a social gathering.
Bob is hoping that readers will take the time to think about his column to the extent that they may decide to send an email to syears@senioryears.com and comment, either positively or negatively about what they have read. We will display letters at Talking Back to Bob.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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