After Trudeau spent years attacking Conservative opposition politicians as “MAGA Republicans,” it must have been very awkward for Justin Trudeau to have to walk into Mar-A-Lago cap in hand asking Donald Trump not to tariff the Canadian economy to death. In this high-stakes diplomatic meeting, Trudeau notably left his top diplomat Melanie Joly as well as deputy PM Chrystia Freeland behind and opted to take chief of staff and public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Despite this meeting, it is not any clearer today than it was when Trump first made his tariff threat as to what exactly he is looking for. Furthermore, it doesn’t appear that Trudeau was successful in convincing Trump to drop his threat.
Watch the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner.
The Conservatives have paused their non-confidence motion, which could trigger an election so that a privileged debate about government misspending could continue instead.
Since early October, Liberals have held up the House of Commons by refusing to release unredacted documents regarding the alleged misuse of government funds in the now-disbanded Sustainable Development Technology Canada fund.
For the Conservative party’s non-confidence motion to be voted on, Parliament would have to consent unanimously to pause the matter of privilege. Still, the Conservatives were not ready to let the Liberal government off the hook unless they knew something would come of it.
Conservatives say they will only end the privileged debate if the NDP agrees to vote with Conservatives on the non-confidence motion or if the Liberals provide the long-requested SDTC documents.
The Conservatives put forward a third non-confidence motion, which was supposed to be put up for a vote on Monday afternoon.
The non-confidence motion was meant to pressure the NDP, which holds the balance of power in the House of Commons and can trigger an election, using its leader’s own words.
“I agree with Jagmeet Singh that the Trudeau government is ‘greedy’ and ‘anti-worker,’ Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on X with the statement. “Now, Jagmeet Singh will have a chance to vote for a non-confidence motion made up entirely of his own words. Will Jagmeet vote yes or no in his own words?”
I agree with Jagmeet Singh that the Trudeau government is “greedy” and “anti-worker."
Now, Jagmeet Singh will have a chance to vote for a non-confidence motion made up entirely of his own words.
The motion quotes from various statements by Singh, including when he announced that the NDP were “ripping up” its coalition agreement with the Trudeau Liberals in September.
During his announcement, Singh said that “Justin Trudeau has proven again and again he will always cave to corporate greed” and that the Liberals “don’t deserve another chance from Canadians.
“The fact is, the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people. They cannot be changed, they cannot restore the hope, they cannot stop the Conservatives,” Singh said. “But we can.”
The first time Conservatives put forward a non-confidence vote this year, Singh and the NDP voted against it, and Poilievre accused Singh’s end of the NDP-Liberal coalition as a stunt designed to distance the NDP from the Liberals to win byelections in Manitoba and Montreal.
The second non-confidence vote took place immediately after and was also shot down by the NDP and BQ. The Conservatives need the support of both parties to topple the Liberal government and trigger an early election. To outnumber the 153 MPs in the Liberal caucus, 25 NDP MPs and 33 BQ MPs must side with the 119 Conservatives.
After the Liberals refused to give into Bloc Quebecois demands for further trade protections and pension increases for seniors, Yves-Francois Blanchet declared the BQ’s commitment to vote non-confidence and trigger an early election.
However, BQ has still made an effort to work with the Liberals.
When the Liberal and NDP asked for parliamentary support to give Canadians a two-month GST / HST tax break and working Canadians a $250 cheque, the Bloc said it would support the bill if retired Canadians were also given the $250 cheque. The BQ voted against the motion along with the Conservatives.
Without a successful non-confidence motion against the Liberals, the next federal election will take place on Oct. 25, 2025.
The federal NDP did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.
Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdul-Salam Source: Israel MFA - X
Nearly a year behind its American allies, the Canadian government has added Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis in Yemen, to its list of banned terrorist entities.
Public Safety Canada announced Monday that the Yemen-based militant rebel group, which enjoys financial and military support from other terror groups, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, is now banned in Canada.
“We have listed Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. Since the early 2000s, Ansarallah has waged an insurgency in Yemen, seeking to unseat the country’s internationally recognized government,” Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in Ottawa Monday.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announces that Canada has designated the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) as a terrorist entity, imposing strict legal and financial penalties to counter their global security threats. pic.twitter.com/DCidKYBKdf
“We stand with the United States in using every tool at our disposal to hold this group and its backers to account.
According to a Public Safety news release, Ansarallah has been involved in numerous attacks against civilian and naval vessels on the Red Sea and other waterways and against Israel.
The U.S. Secretary of State designated Ansarallah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group on Jan. 17, 2024, for its attacks against vessels in an attempt to disrupt global trade.
“The listing of Ansarallah as a terrorist entity has immediate legal and financial consequences,” LeBlanc said. “It’s now a criminal offence to provide material support to this group, and persons seeking to enter Canada affiliated with this group will obviously be inadmissible.”
The listing will now grant Canadian security, intelligence and law enforcement extra leeway and resources to combat terrorism, including cutting off funding to the terror group.
This comes after LeBlanc joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend to discuss Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on Canada if it does not secure its shared border with the U.S.
“Today’s addition of Ansarallah as a listed terrorist entity contributes to our efforts in fighting terrorism globally and aligning Canada with our allies,” LeBlanc said in a statement.
“Acts of violent extremism and terrorism have no place in the world, and we will continue to take action to curtail the spread of these activities internationally and to counter threats to Canada, its citizens and its interests around the world.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre renewed calls to have the Houthis listed as a terror group as it operates as a proxy for the IRGC, a listed terrorist entity, last month.
The IRGC was only listed as a terrorist entity in June despite calls for the militant wing of the Islamic regime in Iran in the House of Commons six years ago and a unanimous vote in Parliament months prior.
In January, Poilievre called on the Liberals to ban the group along with Canada’s allies to the South.
“Common sense Conservatives demanded Trudeau ban Houthi terrorists from operating in Canada in January 2024. Nearly a year later they finally did what we asked,” Poilievre said in response to the news. “Trudeau’s late failure to act on matters like this put Canadians in danger and at risk of violence. Not worth the cost of the crime.”
Common sense Conservatives demanded Trudeau ban Houthi terrorists from operating in Canada in January 2024.
Nearly a year later they finally did what we asked.
Trudeau's late failure to act on matters like this put Canadians in danger and at risk of violence.
B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy group, also applauded the decision to add Ansarallah to the list of banned terrorist entities in Canada.
“This landmark decision is a triumph for justice and security, one that B’nai Brith Canada has fought tirelessly for over many years,” B’nai Brith said on X. “This is a victory for all Canadians who stand against terrorism and uphold the values of peace and justice.”
Nearly half of Canadians now hold the opinion that Canada is letting too many immigrants into the country, according to in-house research by the Department of Immigration.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the 2024 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Online Tracking Survey found that 47% of Canadians believe that the Trudeau government’s current immigration targets permit “too many” into Canada.
Provincially, the anti-immigration sentiment was highest in Saskatchewan at 58%, 56% in Prince Edward Island, 52% in Ontario and 48% in Alberta.
“The research objectives of this study include assessing Canadians’ perceptions of immigration levels, the impact of immigration on Canada, Canada’s immigration system and priorities, and the settlement and integration of newcomers,” reads the report.
The survey also found that a growing number of Canadians are taking issue with the amount of street protests and antisemitic crimes that have taken place since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The survey was conducted by Léger Marketing Inc. last November over a two-week period that included 2,279 respondents from across Canada, with the research costing the department $49,991.
When asked about the Liberals’ initial immigration target of 485,000 immigrants for 2024 at the time, 56% of respondents said that number was “too many.”
The IRCC research also found that 59% of respondents agreed that “immigration has placed too much pressure on public services in Canada,” while 58% agreed that “Canada should focus on helping unemployed Canadians rather than looking for skilled immigrants for our workforce.”
Another cohort of respondents said that they thought immigration was causing the country to change in unlikable ways at 42%, with 33% disagreeing with that sentiment.
Additionally, 63% agreed “that immigrants need to do more to integrate into Canadian society,” with 32% saying that “refugees take jobs away from Canadians.”
The survey also found 38% of respondents agreeing that “refugees pose a risk to the safety and security of Canadians,” while 45% disagreed, instead saying that “accepting refugees places too much pressure on public services in Canada.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that Canada would scale back immigration levels to 365,000 people a year by 2027 last month.
The government’s change in tune was in response to a growing sentiment that the Trudeau government has let in far more people than Canada can handle.
Miller said that he expects the nearly 5 million people living in Canada with visas poised to expire by the end of next year to leave the country voluntarily.
“There are many ways that people leave the country,” Miller told the House of Commons immigration committee last week. “The vast majority leave voluntarily. That is what is expected.”
According to documents tabled in Parliament by the immigration department, 4.9 million visas are going to expire between September 2024 and December 2025.
The department also tallied a total of 1,073,435 foreign students in Canada as of last May.
“These changes will make immigration work for our country so that everyone has access to the quality jobs, homes and supports they need to thrive. We have listened to Canadians, and we will continue to protect the integrity of our system and grow our population responsibly,” said Miller in a statement last month.
“Today’s announcement is the next step in our plan to address the evolving immigration needs of our country. While it’s clear our economy needs newcomers, we see the pressures facing our country, and we must adapt our policies accordingly.”
The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan projects Canada’s population to decline by 0.2% over the next two years before returning to a population growth of 0.8% in 2027.
The number of permanent residents will be reduced from 500,000 to 395,000 next year and then to 380,000 in 2026, before reaching a target of 365,000 in 2027.
The United States Postal Service has suspended all mail and package delivery to Canada due to the ongoing strike affecting Canada Post.
“Effective Nov. 29, 2024, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to Canada due to the foreign postal operator indicating that they are unable to process or deliver international mail or services as a result of the ongoing national strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers,” reads the United States Postal Service’s service alert. “Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to Canada until further notice.”
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced its 55,000 workers would begin a strike on Nov. 15. The strike has already caused the delay of approximately 10 million package deliveries.
“Canada Post’s operations will shut down during a national strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country,” reads the announcement.
The postal company’s busiest quarter is always the fourth quarter, thanks to the Christmas holiday season. A strike during this timeframe is a worst-case scenario for Canadians who rely on Canada Post.
The strike resulted from Canada Post proposing an 11.5% wage increase over four years. The union has requested a 24% increase over that time period to offset the rising cost of living.
In 2023, Canada Post’s operating costs largely went towards labour, accounting for $3.9 billion, or just over 50% of the Crown corporation’s nearly $7.8 billion in total operating expenses. When adding $1 billion in employee benefits, the share climbs to nearly 63%.
Despite the strike only being active for just over two weeks, the cost to small and medium businesses has already reached at least $765 million, or $76.6 million a day, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.
The federation estimates that by Dec. 4, the cost to the sector will reach over $1 billion.
“It’s not the Grinch who is about to steal Christmas. It’s Ottawa sitting idly on the sidelines while small businesses are losing crucial revenue and sales due to circumstances outside of their control,” said Corinne Pohlmann, Executive Vice-President of Advocacy at CFIB. “The Labour Minister recently said mediation talks have been suspended because the two parties remain too far apart to reach a deal and that a long labour conflict is a possibility, but he is the one who has the power to put an end to this mess.”
Even before the strike, Canada Post reported a $315 million pre-tax loss in the third quarter of 2024.
Unlike most Crown corporations, Canada Post needs to turn a profit because it does not receive government funding.
“Even with Canada Post’s recently proposed stamp price increase, the Corporation projects that, without additional borrowing and refinancing, it will fall below its required operating and reserve cash requirements by early 2025,” said the postal operator.
The company has been bleeding money for years. The last time it posted a profit before taxes was in 2017, with a profit of $76 million. In 2023, Canada Post reported a loss of $748 million. Between 2017 and 2023, Canada Post lost almost $3.0 billion before taxes.
In 2006, Canada Post delivered 5.5 billion letters, seven per week per household. By 2023, this fell to 2.2 billion letters, two per week for each household.
“A system built to deliver 5.5 billion letters a year cannot be sustained on two billion letters,” said Canada Post.
The strike could not have come at a worse time, according to Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton.
“We could post a record loss this year. The fourth quarter is where we make our money. It’s our busiest time of year. Nothing coming in. No revenue, no parcels. Those parcels are going elsewhere and having a huge impact on Canada Post, as well as the rest of the country, as small businesses and charities try and scramble and find alternatives,” said Hamilton.
Canada Post said it has tightened operational spending and scaled back investments to save money. However, the company said cutting costs is insufficient to offset its projected deficits.
Canada Post presented a “comprehensive framework” to the union representing its workers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, on Dec. 1. The framework is said to include proposals on the delivery model and flexibility on other key issues.
“CUPW and Canada Post have both provided adjustments to demands to the special mediator in hopes that he will restart the mediation process. As of now, the mediator has not informed us of a restart, but the Union is ready,” said the union. “The framework does not seem to take into account the Minister of Labour’s comments about the agreement needing to be ratifiable.”
Canada’s economy continues to see a substantial financial drain as over $12 billion was sent abroad last year in remittances, primarily by immigrants supporting families in their home countries.
This represents a striking 50% increase compared to 2013 when the figure was just over $8 billion, according to data from the World Bank.
Over the same decade, remittances flowing into Canada have shrunk. In 2013, inward remittances amounted to $1.7 billion; by 2023, that figure fell to $1.2 billion—a 29% decline.
The disparity makes Canada a net exporter of wealth through remittances, a trend that has implications for the domestic economy.
Relative to GDP, Canada sends 33% more in remittances than the United States annually, making it the 15th highest country for outgoing remittances as a share of GDP worldwide. A significant portion of these funds are sent to India, as well as the Philippines and China.
This financial outflow is on top of Canada’s taxpayer-funded foreign aid, which amounted to $15.5 billion in 2022-2023, according to Global Affairs Canada.
Meanwhile, quarterly trends show that there are no signs that outward remittances are slowing down as Canada’s population continues to grow at record rates, largely driven by mass immigration.
The remittance figures highlight a significant movement of Canadian resources overseas with questionable oversight.
A March 2023 report by the Department of Finance on the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing warned that remittances being sent abroad by migrant workers to home countries that “may be high risk for money laundering and terrorist financing” was a chief concern.
Of particular concern are alternative remittance money services which “can allow high-risk clients to wire funds to high-risk jurisdictions through their informal networks.”
Overall, the global remittances being sent abroad by migrants have surged to a loss of $650 billion USD annually for their host nations and could soon exceed $1 trillion as migration increases.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he felt bad for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “position of weakness” regarding his recent visit to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss tariffs on Canadian imports.
Trudeau attended Trump’s estate late Friday to discuss the incoming president’s pledge to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports once he takes office in January.
Trump cited Canada’s loose border control as a reason for wanting to implement the tariffs, accusing the Trudeau government of not doing enough to prevent illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from entering the US via Canada.
Poilevere had strong words for Trudeau in the wake of his visit, calling the prime minister “weak,” and claiming that he’s “lost control” of the country.
“While I’m a critic of Mr. Trudeau’s I did feel badly that he went in with such a position of weakness,” Poilievre told reporters on Sunday.
“What gains did we hear from Mr. Trudeau? None.”
Pierre Poilievre reacts to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet with U.S. President-elect Trump. pic.twitter.com/v3qcwV5Bfe
“Normally when a prime minister goes into the United States to meet a president, they’re looking to make gains. What gains did we hear from Mr. Trudeau? None. He’s just trying to limit losses. Did he come back saying, ‘we’re going to get an exemption to buy American,’ like Harper achieved with Bush? No.”
Poilievre also cited how former prime minister Stephen Harper was able to negotiate a tariff-free deal with then-president George W. Bush on the export of Canadian softwood lumber to the U.S.
“Not only are the tariffs still in place, Biden just doubled them,” he said. “All Justin Trudeau offers is minimizing losses. This is the consequence of having a weak prime minister who’s lost control. Lost control of our borders, lost control of immigration, lost control of crime and drugs and lost control of our economy.”
“Canadians are paying a dreadful price for everything that Justin Trudeau has broken and we need a strong prime minister who has the brains and backbone to put Canada first and to fight for our workers and our security,” said Poilievre.
The Conservative leader called for Trudeau to present a plan to Parliament on how he would bulk up security along the US border ahead of Trump’s return to the White House. Trump has pledged to introduce the tariffs as one of his many first executive orders.
Following his meeting with Trudeau, Trump referred to their meeting as “very productive.”
“We discussed many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address, like the Fentanyl and Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration, Fair Trade Deals that do not jeopardize American Workers, and the massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada,” said Trump in a social media post..
Representatives of the Trudeau government were allegedly told that the US tariffs could not be avoided in the short term because the Trump administration was adamant about their effectiveness, sources told CTV News. However, they added that if border security is tightened, the tariffs could possibly be lifted in the long term.
The two also discussed NATO, Ukraine, China, the energy sector and the importation of fentanyl into both countries.
Trump called the importation of fentanyl a “drug epidemic,” and said that “Prime Minister Trudeau has made a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation of U.S. Families.”
Trudeau told reporters on Saturday before returning to Canada that the meeting was an “excellent conversation.”
Many economists agree that such tariffs would devastate Canadians and are bracing for the worst, saying it could “destroy prosperity on both sides of the border.”
“These tariffs would be bad news not just for Canadians, but also for the many American businesses and workers who rely on Canadian materials to produce their goods,” vice president of communications for the Montreal Economic Institute Renaud Brossard told True North.
Trump campaigned on an across-the-board 10% tariff on all imports into the US, however, he’s upped the ante since winning the election.
According to a report published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce published last month, such a measure would cost the Canadian economy between 0.9% and 1% of the country’s GDP.
This would result in a loss of $1,100 in real annual income for every Canadian and American.
A True North exclusive reveals footage of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh getting into a Maserati on Parliament Hill. Singh is well-known for his expensive taste, once boasting about his Rolex collection and seen carrying a Versace bag. What happened to the NDP’s fight against “greedy CEOs” and “the rich?”
Plus, Whitecourt elementary school cancels its Christmas concert for not being inclusive enough.
And in the wake of mounting concerns over Canada’s immigration system, New Brunswick temporarily paused one of its immigration streams.
Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Isaac Lamoureux!
The Mayor of Mississauga, Carolyn Parrish, recently posted a picture of herself sitting with three virulent anti-Israel activists standing behind her.
These three — in particular, Ghada Sasa, standing with the keffiyeh on her shoulders — have not just denied the atrocities of Oct. 7 but have appeared regularly at protests harassing the Jewish community.
Parrish posted this tasteless picture shortly after she was criticized for defending a planned tribute to former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the city’s downtown square, which the organizers later cancelled on their own.
Productive, informative, positive visit with three amazingly well-informed young Canadians: Khaled, Sabreena and Ghada. Mississauga is fortunate to be a truly multicultural city where every opinion matters and residents feel free to express themselves in a safe and open society. pic.twitter.com/O6m6B4uK16
This past week Montreal mayor, Valerie Plante, blamed unnamed “vandals” instead of the anti-Semitic pro-Palestinian thugs for rioting, burning cars and smashing windows during a recent violent pogram-like protest in the city’s downtown.
In my own city of Toronto, the police — which have done little more than enable and inflame the Jew hatred on the city’s streets — arrested Rebel News journalist and founder Ezra Levant for standing on a public sidewalk by the Hamas supporters to film their vile and tasteless recreation of Yahya Sinwar in a chair just prior to being killed by Israeli forces.
The video of the police treatment of Levant and his arrest in which they accuse HIM of breaching the peace — which went viral in the U.S. and in Canada.
All this is to say that although I have covered the rise in anti-Semitism for years and wrote about it in my 2016 book, I have never seen the situation so horrific.
Over the course of the past year, Israel’s detractors have gone from blaming Zionists – as if they could separate Zionism and the Jewish people – to not caring one bit whether they flout their Jew-hatred.
It’s seen online, in boycotts of Jewish businesses, on our streets, attacks, taunts and bullying in our schools, leaving Jewish students and teachers terrified while our education minister does nothing.
From blaming the victim mentality by the police to the absolute enabling of the harassment and violence by the Hamas sympathizers, it is a terrible time for my community in Canada’s major cities — not to mention worldwide.
I have always remarked that most of our political “leaders” — save for a few notable exceptions — seldom show leadership during times of crisis.
In the case of the Jew-hatred, they’ve not just ignored it but allowed it to fester like a toxic cancer.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been the worst offender, followed close behind by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Both have done nothing to stem the anti-Semitic behaviour of several of their MPs or that which we’ve seen repeatedly on the streets of our major cities.
Provincial politicians have not been much better. Aside from a few cameo appearances at Jewish events, Premier Doug Ford has remained silent, rarely condoning the violence on Ontario’s streets and certainly doing nothing to stop it.
His solicitor general, Michael Kerzner, has been even worse, considering he’s Jewish and represents the Jewish area of Toronto infiltrated by the terrorist sympathizers. Aside from his own cameo appearances and tweets, it would seem Kerzner has done nothing to condone the police forces (which he oversees) for their failure to arrest the hateful perpetrators using a variety of laws available to them.
And of course, there’s Toronto mayor, Olivia Chow, who seems to have no idea she is sitting on a tinderbox waiting to explode in the city she oversees.
While I have no direct knowledge of her directives, it would seem that the weak-willed Toronto police chief, Myron Demkiw, and his brass have been giving the message to stand down, make no arrests of the violent terrorist sympathizers (using the many laws available to them) and simply endeavour to keep the peace.
A few days ago, Chow was confronted by an angry bunch at an interfaith summit at City Hall for not doing enough (or anything) to stem the tide of anti-Semitism in the city.
After being interrupted a few times, she lectured the crowd as if they were five years old.
“If you do not believe in me, how do we build a path forward,” she said.
A path forward means having the political will to stop the violent protesters on our city streets and not allowing them to try to intimidate Toronto residents by bending down and praying at major traffic-congested intersections.
Chow, Ford and Trudeau — and their respective circle of politicians — only have themselves to blame for ignoring the hatred and thinking it might go away.
Are they waiting for a member of my community to get hurt? That’s where it is heading.
Perhaps they could take a page from Levant’s book and grow a spine.
Two days ago, the police issued a weak statement indicating that they would arrest anyone for breaching the peace.
This was countered by a pointed letter from Jewish criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh, who reminded police that their powers are not all-encompassing. She referred to a Supreme Court ruling, which stated that those attending a protest and doing nothing to incite can’t be arrested for fear they will incite the other side.
The Court found that an act can only constitute a "breach of the peace only if it involves some level of violence and a risk of harm". pic.twitter.com/E5lGFyq0Mh
And on Sunday, Levant, along with 100 others who took back the public sidewalk where the Hamasniks have been gathering to spew their hate, was not arrested.
It seems all it takes is to push back.
Imagine what would happen if the police were instructed to arrest or find some other method (like water cannons used in other cities) to get these haters off the streets.
Imagine if our politicians had the political will to do what’s right.
The number of Canadians facing addiction, mental health and suicidal ideation has been growing at an alarming rate.
Responders with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have received over 300,000 calls and texts since the launch of its national 988 suicide helpline last year.
Chief medical officer for the helpline Dr. Allison Crawford said that people dealing with suicidal thoughts or other mental health distress may access help 24 hours a day, seven days a week anywhere across the country.
She also anticipates an increase in the volume of calls and texts as more people become aware of the service.
According to Crawford, responders must answer the calls or texts quickly so that the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t give up.
The 988 helpline was launched last November, and will receive $177 million in funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada for the first three years of the program.
While the average wait time for phone calls was 44 seconds and one minute and 47 seconds for text messages last month, Crawford said that staff are continually working to improve wait times.
Once a call is received, it’s immediately rerouted to the closest available responder in relation to the caller, so that they may provide people with access to the best resources in their local community, should they need additional assistance.
Over 2,000 responders work at the CAMH helpline across 39 community agencies throughout Canada.
Executive director of Chimo Community Services in Richmond, B.C. Slinder Bhatti manages between seven and 12 responders on the helpline at one time, depending on the expected volume of calls and text patterns.
Unsurprisingly, the holiday season presents a spike in calls.
Bhatti noted that the 988 line is intended for anyone who is struggling and that people are permitted to call or text multiple times as needed.
