Thomas Willman
Identifying contextual factors associated with suicide among First Nation, Inuit and Métis adults in Northern Ontario using coroner records (2015–2025)
Suicide-prevention strategies need detailed information about the circumstances in which deaths occur. For First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults in Northern Ontario, gaps in region-specific and disaggregated evidence can limit the development of responsive programs and policies.
Thomas’s study seeks to identify contextual risk and protective factors associated with suicide using case records, with attention to producing information that can support culturally safe approaches to prevention.
Approach and methodology
The project will analyze records from the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario covering 2015–2025. Its planned case-based analysis will examine demographic and contextual characteristics relevant to suicide among First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults in Northern Ontario.
The analysis is intended to make regional patterns and contextual factors more visible in the evidence available to planners and communities.
Expected contribution
The study aims to improve the relevance of public-health evidence for Northern Ontario and support more informed service planning, resource allocation and culturally safe suicide-prevention efforts. The anticipated contribution is evidence that can be considered alongside Indigenous leadership and community priorities—not a claim that prevention outcomes have already changed.
About the researcher
Thomas (Tom) Willman is a Métis doctoral student in Counselling and Clinical Psychology at the University of Toronto. He grew up in White Rock, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of Coast Salish peoples.
His Métis ancestry is connected to the historic Red River communities of Saint-Boniface and Saint-Vital. His research interests centre on culturally grounded Indigenous mental health and wellness initiatives that reflect the strengths, histories and priorities of Indigenous communities.
