Fact Check: No evidence Canada is making its national suicide hotline available to US citizens
Claim:
Following concerns Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services would defund the U.S. LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention hotline, Canada added a toll-free number to their national suicide hotline for Americans to use free of charge.
Rating:
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis or emotional distress, reach out 24/7 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) by dialing or texting 988 or using chat services at suicidepreventionlifeline.org to connect to a trained crisis counselor.
In the aftermath of rumors about proposed budget cuts to the United States' 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline in mid-April 2025, a claim circulated online that the Canadian government opened up its national suicide hotline to American citizens.
According to the claim, which spread through posts on X (archived) and Instagram (archived), the Canadian government added a toll-free phone number for U.S. citizens to reach the hotline free of charge.
The widespread nature of the claim led a multitude of Snopes readers to reach out via email to verify its legitimacy.
Despite the popularity of the rumor, there was no evidence to support the claim that Canada added a toll-free phone number that Americans could use as an alternative to the U.S. 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline.
The phone number provided in the claims, 1-877-330-6366, was actually the Canadian phone number for the Trans Lifeline Hotline. The phone number was clearly listed on the Trans Lifeline's website, which described the hotline service as "a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers." Therefore, we have rated this claim false.
Snopes reached out to Health Canada for comment on these claims and to ask if offering their services to American citizens is a possibility in the future. Health Canada is a federal institution of the Canadian government "responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health," according to their website.
"No, Canada's 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline does not serve the United States," Karine LeBlanc, senior communications advisor for Health Canada, wrote via email. "The 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline is funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and their local, provincial, territorial and national partners."
The rumor circulated as a new budget proposal by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services proposed the elimination of the U.S. 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline Specialized Services for LGBTQ+ Youth.
Canada's Suicide Crisis Lifeline can be reached by Canadian citizens dialing 988, just as a United States citizen would, but it is a separate entity.
In a May 22, 2024, episode of Healthy Canadians, a podcast produced by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, Dr. Allison Crawford, the chief medical officer for Canada's 988 service, described it as "a three-digit number that anyone in Canada can call and receive support by a live responder in English or French, no matter who they are or where they are."
Crawford continued, "Our focus really is on suicide prevention, but we also like to say there's no wrong number. We answer every call, but our focus is really suicide prevention and connecting with people when they're in distress."
Crawford further elaborated that the organizers of Canada's 988 service took into account the needs of marginalized communities and "spoke to over 50 communities that have intersectional identities, so 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, Indigenous communities, Black Canadians, people with different disabilities, we spoke with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community." According to the website of the Canadian government:
[2SLGBTQIA+] is the acronym used by the Government of Canada to refer to the Canadian community. 2S: at the front, recognizes Two-Spirit people as the first 2SLGBTQI+ communities; L: Lesbian; G: Gay; B: Bisexual; T: Transgender; Q: Queer; I: Intersex, considers sex characteristics beyond sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; +: is inclusive of people who identify as part of sexual and gender diverse communities, who use additional terminologies.
The official website of Canada's 988 service says it has "answered 449,594 calls and texts" from Nov. 30, 2023 to Feb. 28, 2025, excluding those routed to Quebec.
Canada, Service. 9-8-8: About Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline (Podcast). 22 May 2024, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/health/stay-connected/healthy-canadians-podcast/list/988-part-one-about-canadas-suicide-crisis-helpline.html.
Esposito, Joey. "What We Know about Claims RFK Jr. Intends to Defund LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Prevention Hotline." Snopes, 25 Apr. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/04/25/rfk-jr-lgbtq-suicide-hotline/.
"Get Help." 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, https://988.ca/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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