An estimated 20,000 Quebecers call the province's 24-hour suicide-prevention hotline each year. (CBC) The suicide rate in Quebec continues to decline, but it remains the highest of any province in Canada, according to new figures released by the Quebec government.

The National Public Health Institute of Quebec released its 2007 suicide statistics on Monday.

In that year, 1,091 Quebecers took their own lives, a rate of 14 deaths per 100,000 residents.

By comparison, in 1999, the rate was 22 deaths per 100,000 residents.

There are many possible explanations for the drop in numbers, said Brian Mishara, a psychology professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal and co-founder of the suicide prevention association, Suicide-Action Montreal.

He said rising employment rates in the province over the past few years may have contributed to the reduction in suicide deaths. There has also been an improved effort to raise awareness about support services, he said.

Quebec actor joins prevention effort

Although the overall numbers for the province are down across all age groups, men still account for four out of five suicides in Quebec.

The spokesperson for this year's Suicide Prevention Week, Nicholas Canuel, said that is the reason he decided to get involved in suicide-prevention efforts.

Suicide remains the No. 1 cause of death among men between the ages of 20 and 40 in Quebec. However, the number is on the decline by about four per cent per year, according to the public health institute.

Canuel said a culture of emotional repression still prevents men from asking for or offering help.

"Maybe it's the way we were raised over here, I don't know, but there's something to change," said Canuel, who has appeared in some of Quebec's most popular movies of the past few years, including Bluff and Bon Cop Bad Cop.

He hopes the provincial government will invest more money in public awareness campaigns, in the same way it did in the 1980s to discourage drunk driving.

"With all of the advertising around that, really it did change. I think we could do the same thing with suicide," said Canuel.

Quebec begins year with high-profile alleged murder-suicide

The issue of suicide has been high on the minds of Quebecers this year, following the deaths of four members of a Saguenay, Que., family on New Year's Day.

Cathy Gauthier-Lachance, 36, has been charged with assisting in her husband's suicide and killing her three children.

Police allege the couple had a pact to kill themselves and their children, age 12, 7 and 4, respectively.

Family members have suggested that the couple were under severe financial strain at the time of the incident.

The Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention runs a 24-hour help line at 1-866-APPELLE (277-3553).