National suicide crisis line

Effective Nov. 30, 2023, anyone in Canada can call or text 988 if they need immediate mental health crisis and suicide prevention intervention.

This new, three-digit national Suicide Crisis Helpline, 988, is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year for people who are:

• Thinking about suicide
• In emotional distress
• Worried about someone they know

The 988 helpline provides:

• Support in English and in French by phone and text
• Quick access to support from trained responders
• High quality, evidence-based, equitable suicide prevention and crisis support for everyone in Canada

Based on their work on Talk Suicide Canada, the federal government asked the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to lead the implementation of 988.

CAMH worked with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other key partners to onboard a large cohort of organizations who were already providing crisis and suicide services to the 988 network. All 988 responders are trained to support people who reach out.