Canada spends just 6.3 per cent of its total health-care budget on mental health, while France spends 15 per cent and Germany allocates 11 per cent
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Bell Canada is again using January to raise awareness about Canadians’ mental health. For the past 15 years, the media giant has faithfully produced its “Bell Let’s Talk Day” campaign to encourage Canadians to move beyond the stigma of mental illness and talk openly about it with family and friends.
Unfortunately, this year’s campaign hasn’t received the same degree of visibility as in the past. Media outlets seem overwhelmingly preoccupied with a prime minister throwing in the towel, a leadership race to take his place, a controversial U.S. president and—well—an even more controversial U.S. president. After watching the news, a chat about issues that are wreaking havoc on the mental health of Canadians seems redundant. Everyone is stressed right now.
Bell’s focus this year is on youth. Together with Mental Health Research Canada, the company produced A Generation at Risk: The State of Youth Mental Health in Canada, a comprehensive national report outlining the unique challenges facing young people.
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The numbers are sobering. Approximately 1.25 million youth need mental health support, but nearly three in five (57 per cent) aren’t getting the help they need. Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth, accounting for 21 per cent of fatalities, and 24 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 report having thoughts of suicide. Furthermore, mental health conditions often emerge early, with 66 to 75 per cent of issues appearing before the age of 24.
The report highlights a constellation of contributing factors that, alone and in combination, have worsened youth mental health since the pandemic. These include social disconnection, excessive screen time (more than six hours per day), and socio-economic challenges. The message is clear: kids need help, and they’re not getting it. Canada must prioritize mental health by ensuring access—sometimes rapid access—to appropriate care.
In fall 2024, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) released a report offering insight into the access problem. First, funding for mental health care is severely limited. It’s hardly surprising, given the state of Canadian health care, but our mental health budget is about half of what it should be. We allocate just 6.3 per cent of our health-care spending to mental health, compared to 15 per cent in France and 11 per cent in Germany. Analysts suggest Canada’s budget should be closer to 12 per cent—double what it is now.
Second, our infrastructure is insufficient. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada has just 0.37 psychiatric beds per thousand people. For context, Japan has more than five times that number, at 1.94 beds per thousand. Of 30 countries with universal health care, Canada ranks near the bottom at 25th.
Third, cost is a significant barrier to accessing care outside government-funded services. For most people, the closest they’ll get to mental health care is through a counsellor or therapist—and these cost money. More than half (57 per cent) of Canadians aged 18 to 24 who showed early signs of mental illness said cost was a major obstacle to receiving care.
No wonder the CMHA declares that mental health care in Canada “is a privilege. It should be a right.”
This problem isn’t confined to youth. An estimated 2.5 million Canadians—roughly the populations of Manitoba and Saskatchewan combined—aren’t getting adequate mental health care. The opioid crisis, addictions, homelessness, crime, and a lack of beds for the seriously ill all initiate and exacerbate mental illness. Even cannabis use, which the government has legalized, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of psychosis in teens.
So, kudos to Bell for continuing to champion awareness and programs for the mentally ill. Conversations sparked by this campaign may inspire some to seek help—but getting care remains elusive. In this sense, Bell’s annual campaign serves as a sober reminder that Canada has so little to offer those who suffer from mental illness. Maybe it’s time to talk about that.
Susan Martinuk is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the author of Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health-care Crisis.
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