Société de sauvetage Executive Director Raynald Hawkins told Global News that this total marks a sharp decline from the nearly 200 annual drownings recorded in Quebec roughly 40 years ago.
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Hawkins noted that the majority of drownings remain preventable, while separate data from the Canadian Drowning Prevention Research Centre indicates that over half of accidental drowning deaths involve an untrained person attempting a rescue.
"People will say I don’t have any choice, I have to jump in the water and try and reach them before I lose them.
This is a kind of reaction we can have, particularly if it’s a very close person to us," said Hawkins.
The water safety executive advised that unless an individual is a trained swimmer, the safest course of action is to immediately contact emergency services.
"But don’t take a risk," said Hawkins.
Hawkins additionally expressed support for a Boating Safety Council initiative to mandate lifejackets alongside permanent funding for school swim programs.
"Going in this direction we’re gonna see our numbers going down to 20 drownings in Québec and close to 100 in Canada and the average will be in the future maybe close to 40," said Hawkins.
The organization continues to monitor provincial drowning statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of local water safety campaigns.
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"But again, when we have one drowning … [it] is too much for us," said Hawkins.
