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Remote and rural communities are special places. They’re known for strong social bonds, close ties to the land, and a pace of life that can help keep stress at bay….
Mental Health in Rural and Remote Canada: Community insights and solutionsOn January 10, Federal Minister of Health, The Honourable Mark Holland, issued a letter of interpretation on the Canada Health Act to the provinces and territories with new guidance and…
CMHA National statement regarding federal guidance to provinces and territories on the Canada Health ActIn July 2025, first payments are scheduled to begin for a new federal income supplement, available to qualifying people with disabilities across Canada. Called the “Canada Disability Benefit” (CDB), this…
Canada Disability Benefit: FAQs and our latest advocacy messages to the federal governmentAnalysis of Mental Health Care Investments in the 2023 Working Together Health Bilateral Agreements Instead of permanently funding a Canada Mental Health Transfer as committed in the Liberal Party of…
Overpromised, UnderdeliveredThe Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) National Office has prepared this fact sheet to spread the word about the Canadian Dental Care Plan and to answer your questions. The federal…
Frequently Asked Questions: Canadian Dental Care PlanLast year, 8,049 people in Canada died from apparent drug poisonings – an average of 22 deaths per day. These deaths were largely accidental, meaning those using drugs did not…
Preventing drug-related deathsVIA EMAIL: hcminister.ministresc@hc-sc.gc.ca The Hon. Mark Holland, M.P., P.C.Minister of Health70 Colombine Driveway, Tunney’s Pasture, Floor 16Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9 Subject: Request to meet to address the exclusion of mental…
Open letter requesting federal Minister of Health to revisit the Canada Health Act for mental healthThe Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is seriously alarmed by the federal government’s recent proposal to use federal penitentiaries for the non-criminal detention of migrants and refugee claimants, including those…
CMHA calls for cancellation of plan to use federal prisons for immigration detentionCanadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) National and Centre for Suicide Prevention welcome The National Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Working together on life promotion and suicide prevention. This is Canada’s first…
Helping save more lives: The Canadian Mental Health Association & Centre for Suicide Prevention support the National Suicide Prevention Action Plan13,255 people in Canada were polled from October 2022 to May 2023 about their mental health. Youth and young adults who identified as women, non-binary* and 2SLGBTQIA+ were more likely…
Mental health at the pandemic’s end: Youth still reporting higher rates of mental health problems13,255 people in Canada were polled about their mental health from October 2022 to May 2023. Women, non-binary, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people were more likely to report that they were struggling…
Mental Health at the Pandemic’s End: Women, non-binary and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are still reporting poorer mental health and greater service useSource: All quoted indicators and passages below are cited from UN Statistics Division – Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals The Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) vision is…
What you need to know about mental health and the UN’s Sustainable Development GoalsThe Canadian Mental Health Association welcomes the federal government’s decision to postpone the planned expansion in March 2024 of Medical Assistance in Dying for persons whose sole underlying medical condition…
Statement in support of a legislative extension for Medical Assistance in Dying for persons suffering solely from a mental disorderOur genes alone don’t decide if we’ll have problems with our mental health. Biology plays a part, as does the health care we receive. But the circumstances we live in…
When it comes to health, our circumstances matterThe Canadian Mental Health Association is urging the federal government to ensure that people who call the 9-8-8 crisis line receive “Care after the Call.”
Care after the CallSeptember 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, an opportunity to honour people and communities impacted by a suicide attempt or loss. It is also a chance to raise awareness, reduce…
Suicide prevention requires investment in community supports: a message for the federal government this World Suicide Prevention DayGovernments increasingly understand that there is no health without mental health. One third of people in Canada will experience a mental illness or substance use disorder during their lifetime.[1] And…
Investing in Community: Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance in Advance of the 2024 Federal BudgetMental health and addictions intersect with a broad range of government policy issues. Sometimes the link to policy is obvious—like that mental illness is a factor in homelessness—but the connection…
Spring 2023 federal advocacy reportIt’s existed for decades: mental health support that you can get outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices. It is called “community mental health. ” Read this short brief to learn…
Community mental healthMental health care needs to be available to everyone. That’s what we mean by universal. Read this short brief to learn about “universal mental health care.”
Why we need universal mental heath careThe Canadian Mental Health Association makes this statement in anticipation of a legislative change expected in March 2024 that will allow people to qualify for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)…
Statement on upcoming changes to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) lawIn the face of a mental health crisis and government inaction, Canadians are saying it’s time we all had free, publicly funded mental health care. The Canadian Mental Health Association…
Canadians need more from their mental health systemWhat are the real-life experiences of people in the mental health system? We went across the country asking them. Here’s what they told us.
Real Talk: Mental health stories from across CanadaThe Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is profoundly concerned that Budget 2023 did not include the promised Canada Mental Health Transfer. Failing to establish the Transfer is an abdication of…
Budget 2023 out of touch with mental health crisisThe overwhelming evidence from Canada shows that the pandemic took a significant and undeniable toll, with ongoing impacts on people’s mental health. In light of this, we would like to…
A message to our government leaders: The impact of COVID-19 on mental health is real. Let’s listen to the evidence.Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, We hope that you were able to take Family Day last Monday to spend time with your family. To mark Family Day, we asked Canadians to…
Open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau: There’s a mental health crisis for children and youth and they need your helpWe all have the right to mental health care that is publicly funded and free. Yet millions of Canadians are struggling and only some will get the care they need….
Federal plan for universal mental health & substance use healthWhen it comes to mental health in Canada, it would simply be untrue to call our health system universal. Mental health and substance use problems are rampant in Canada, but…
CMHA calls on the federal government to make mental health part of Canada’s universal health care system in 2023 budgetCMHA National testifies before The Standing Committee on the Status of Women in order to bring attention to the challenges faced by women and girls when it comes to accessing…
CMHA testimony before FEWO: young women and girls mental health studyMembers of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH), Organizations for Health Action (HEAL), the Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition (EHPC) and other organizations in intersecting sectors (see…
Open letter to Minister BennettYouth and the dedicated workers supporting them are struggling – and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. A Statistics Canada report shows youth are the least likely among all age…
Joint Statement from Members of the Child and Youth Mental Health Sector and its StakeholdersEarly Childhood Educators (ECEs) and Child and Youth Workers are vital to the success of the economy. However, their work is grossly undervalued as evidenced by stagnant wages and chronic…
The Burnout Crisis: A Call to Invest in ECE and Child and Youth Workers2022-2023 Federal Budget commitments & analysis INTRODUCTION On April 7, 2022, the Trudeau government delivered Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable. The federal…
A holding pattern for mental healthOn March 23, 2022, CMHA’s National CEO, Margaret Eaton appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health to discuss the emergency situation facing Canadians in light of the…
CMHA appears before House of Commons Standing Committee on HealthA new report by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) reveals how not-for-profit mental health workers and organizations have been impacted by and responded to the pandemic. Entitled Running on…
Running on Empty: how community mental health organizations have fared on the frontlines of the pandemicFar from feeling the pandemic is over, most people in Canada are stressed about what’s next, with 64% worried about new variants and 57% worried about COVID-19 circulating in the…
A summary of key findings – Round 4: Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Mental Health5mins Check against delivery Thank you Chair. Hello, my name is Margaret Eaton, I am the National CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, or CMHA. CMHA is the…
CMHA Budget 2022 pre-budget consultations: appearance before FINA CommitteeIn 2021, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) launched a nationwide strategic plan that articulates its new vision: a Canada where mental health is a universal human right. For CMHA, this brief is a starting point for unpacking what ‘mental health as human right’ means in practice. It…
Brief | Mental Health as a Human Right: CMHA’s VisionConversion ‘therapy’ is a harmful practice that puts the mental health of 2SLGBTQ+ people at risk The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is the most extensive community mental health organization…
CMHA statement on conversion ‘therapy’The pandemic has put a focus on mental health like never before. Perhaps mental health needs have never been so great. In fact, 41% of Canadians have seen their mental…
Taking care of mental health on Parliament HillThe pandemic has had a devastating and lasting impact on the mental health of Canadians. Extended isolation, economic insecurity, fear of infection, and the loss of life and a sense…
CMHA calls for direct investment in community mental health in budget 2022The pandemic is taking an emotional toll on people in Canada, as 77% of adults report feeling so-called negative emotions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The five most…
Round 3 of national survey shows pandemic is taking an emotional tollAs many Canadians continue to lose their lives to opioid poisonings, understanding how to prevent these tragic and preventable deaths is essential. The opioid poisoning crisis has been called a…
Women’s access to supervised consumption services: a studyANNOUNCEMENT The Canadian Mental Health Association Applauds Budget 2021 Investments in Mental Health Toronto, April 20, 2021: Today, Margaret Eaton, National CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), the…
CMHA applauds Budget 2021 investments in Mental HealthThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme national anxiety with mental health effects like nothing we have seen before. Research suggests that Canadians will still be struggling with their mental health long after a vaccine is available. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has made the…
Investing in community-based mental health services for long-term pandemic recoveryCanada has been suffering through a mental health crisis that has worsened since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Declared a public health emergency in many parts of Canada last…
A new “Social Contract” for a Mentally Healthy CanadaThe second wave of the pandemic has intensified feelings of stress and anxiety, causing alarming levels of despair, suicidal thoughts and hopelessness in the Canadian population. This, according to the…
New national survey finds Canadians’ mental health erodingMany Canadians are not making use of virtual resources that could help them cope with the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest analysis of a…
Online supports for COVID-19 stress are there—but Canadians aren’t accessing themThe community-based research project, Muslim Women’s Mental Health, asked Muslim women in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to describe their first-hand experiences of mental health and mental health…
Muslim Women’s Mental Health: a studyWhen the COVID-19 pandemic caused sudden and unprecedented job loss, Canada moved swiftly. The COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan – of which the CERB is a part – provided temporary income…
Statement on Universal Basic IncomeInvesting in focused areas of support to ensure long-term mental health recovery for Canadians The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme national anxiety with mental health effects like nothing we have…
Prebudget submission 2021Mental illness is not a crime The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is deeply concerned by the recent deaths of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis across Canada stemming from…
Statement on police and wellness checksINTRODUCTION: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON MENTAL HEALTHIn Canada, COVID-19, or coronavirus disease, has caused thousands of deaths and continuesto endanger lives. Since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak…
COVID-19 and Mental Health: Heading Off an Echo PandemicThe pandemic has caused intense stress and disruption for all people in Canada, and is causing pronounced mental health concerns, including suicidal thoughts and feelings, in various subgroups of the…
COVID-19 effects on the mental health of vulnerable populations: Wave 1It is often said that small business is the backbone of the Canadian economy and that when entrepreneurs succeed, so does Canada. Considering the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the…
Going it Alone: The mental health and well-being of Canada’s entrepreneursThe Canadian Mental Health Association calls for new legislation to bring mental health into balance with physical health. Over half of Canadians (53%) consider anxiety and depression to be ‘epidemic’ in Canada, with…
Mental Health in the Balance: Ending the Health Care Disparity in CanadaA Framework for Support is CMHA’s central policy regarding people with mental illness. This third edition retained the integrity of the model and is now positioned within the current context…
A Framework for Support
