Goal 3: Support mental health and adopt healthy behaviours

The Government of Canada recognizes that maintaining healthy lives and promoting the well-being of Canadians is essential to sustainable development and building prosperous, peaceful and inclusive societies. This includes providing support for positive mental health and promoting healthy lifestyles and healthy eating. This Goal's focus on good health and well-being upholds SDG Global Indicator Framework targets:

3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol (in the Canadian context, the terminology used is substance use related harms)
3.a Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate

In general, Canada is a healthy nation; however, not all groups in Canada enjoy the same level of health and well-being. These inequalities are influenced by social, economic and political factors that in turn shape access to resources and opportunities necessary to support well-being. Identity factors, including race, ethnicity, religion and age, and the interaction among these factors also influence the way diverse groups of Canadians experience health and the conditions that impact health. Achieving good health and wellbeing for all Canadians requires integration of health equity and intersectionality in decision making and taking action on factors outside of the health care system ('social determinants of health') such as income, employment, education, childhood experiences, and racism and discrimination.

About 1 in 3 Canadians will be affected by a mental illness during their lifetime. The Government recognizes the significant and unique mental health challenges experienced by youth, Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized Canadians, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Perceived mental health has been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in Canadians screening positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder was observed.

Currently, older adults represent 19% of the population. By 2030, the proportion of the population that is 65 and older will increase to approximately between 21% and 23%. Over the next 20 years, seniors will make up about 25% of the population. Those over 75 are among the fastest growing age groups in Canada. Among all older adults, about 73% live with at least one chronic disease and between April 2017 and March 2018, almost 452,000 people over 65 in Canada were living with diagnosed dementia. Healthy behaviours (for example, a healthy diet and physical activity) and communities that are age-friendly and dementia-inclusive can help with managing chronic conditions, decrease the risk of developing new diseases or conditions, and contribute to older adults' mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Gaps in health outcomes are significant for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people often have poorer health status and outcomes than the general Canadian population, as shown across indicators such as mortality, incidence of communicable and chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and diabetes, as well as higher rates of HIV infection and dementia. In addition, certain communities such as Indigenous people and Black Canadians are less likely to seek medical assistance due to reasons of historic medical racism, which leads to poorer health outcomes. Poor mental health outcomes in Indigenous communities is also a long-lasting and intergenerational effects of residential schools. Health inequalities are also experienced by rural communities, and particularly Indigenous communities.

Climate change, including extreme weather events, wildfires, changes in air quality and vector distribution, and increased risks to food and water safety, is also causing significant impacts to the health and well-being of Canadians as well as health systems. Climate change is having stronger and longer-lasting impacts on people, which can directly affect their mental health and psychosocial well-being. Impacts can occur after an acute event such as a flood or wildfire and can cause mental health impacts such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.

Extreme heat is a significant health issue in Canada with higher temperatures impacting the physical and mental health of Canadians (for example, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, fatigue and death). In addition, as the climate changes, certain pathogens and vectors for infectious diseases can establish in new areas, expand and shift in geographic range, or become more abundant.

How the Government of Canada contributes

Provincial, territorial and federal governments share roles and responsibilities for health services. The Government of Canada has engaged with provinces and territories to address key health priorities and has made substantial investments to improve mental health and substance use services.

In 2016, the Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework was developed to monitor the state of positive mental health and well-being in Canada and to inform programs and policies to improve the mental health of Canadians. This includes updated estimates for positive mental health outcomes, and associated risk and protective factors at the individual, family, community and society levels for youth (aged 12 to 17 years) and adults aged 18 years and older. Data are also broken out by key demographic and socioeconomic variables.

In April 2020, the Government of Canada launched the Wellness Together Canada portal to provide Canadians with free access to live and confidential online mental health and substance use resources, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 200 languages and dialects. Budget 2022 provided $140 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to Health Canada for the Wellness Together Canada portal so it can continue to provide Canadians with tools and services to support their mental health and well-being.

Funding of $14.2 million was also provided to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to advance specific priorities in the area of mental health, substance use and suicide prevention. In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada provided $150 million over three years to support the mental health of those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Budget 2021 also provided funding for a distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategy with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation. The Government of Canada is committed to addressing anti-Indigenous racism in Canada's health systems, through funding from Budget 2021, which provided $126.7 million over 3 years to take action to foster health systems free from racism and discrimination.

The Government of Canada continues to collaborate with provinces and territories to develop national standards for access to mental health and substance use.

In June 2019, the Government of Canada launched Canada's first national dementia strategy, A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire. One national objective is to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and their caregivers. This objective focuses on eliminating stigma and promoting measures that create supportive and safe dementia-inclusive communities, as well as supporting family/friend caregivers. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting older adults to remain healthy, safe and socially connected, and helping them stay in their homes longer.

The Government of Canada also encourages Canadians to adopt and maintain healthy behaviours, and tracks progress through a number of key indicators such as smoking prevalence, healthy eating and movement behaviours, and substance use harms. The government takes action to champion healthy behaviours and prevent causes of premature death from tobacco use by implementing Canada's Tobacco Strategy. This strategy aims to help Canadians who smoke to quit or reduce the harms of their addiction to nicotine, as well as protect the health of young people and non-smokers from the dangers of tobacco use. The government is also addressing youth vaping by, among other actions, reducing the appeal of and access to vaping products among young Canadians.

The Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (CDSS) reflects a comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate and evidence-based approach to drug policy. Guided by the CDSS, the Government of Canada has taken significant actions and made commitments of more than $800 million to address the opioid overdose crisis and substance-use-related harms. This includes:

more than $282 million to the Substance Use and Addictions Program through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 to support community-based projects addressing substance use prevention, harm reduction and treatment initiatives across the country
$150 million through the Emergency Treatment Fund to assist provinces and territories in improving access to evidence-based treatment services for substance use disorders
$200 million to enhance the delivery of culturally appropriate addictions treatment and prevention services in First Nations communities

The Healthy Eating Strategy aims to improve the food environment to make it easier for consumers to make healthier choices by improving healthy eating information, improving the nutritional quality of foods and protecting vulnerable populations. Health Canada introduced new nutrition labelling regulations for packaged foods requiring a symbol on the front of packages indicating that a food is high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium, on July 20, 2022. Evidence is clear that high intakes of saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium can contribute to various diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The Government of Canada supports community-based interventions that target priority populations facing health inequalities and higher rates of chronic disease. It encourages health behaviour changes and creates physical and social environments known to enable better health. Further, while health is the primary focus, Canada's Dietary Guidelines acknowledge potential environmental benefits to improving current patterns of eating. For example, there is evidence supporting a lesser environmental impact by eating plant-based foods. Benefits include helping to conserve soil, water and air.

Climate change poses significant risks to Canadians' health, their communities and their health systems and these risks will grow. The Government of Canada led a National Assessment Process to examine how and why Canada's climate is changing; the impacts of these changes on our communities, environment and economy; and how communities are adapting across the country. This information can help Canadians make sound decisions and take action to adapt.

In particular, the report about the Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate, released in 2022, details the effects of climate change and growing risks on health and health systems, the populations most at risk, how health care authorities are adapting to climate change, and effective measures to protect health. Findings from the mental health and well-being chapter of this report support decision-makers in taking actions to protect mental health in a changing climate and adaptation options to consider. The Infectious Disease and Climate Change Program also assists decision-making by health professionals as well as advances education and awareness raising activities to reduce the impact of climate-sensitive diseases on human health in Canada, with a focus on vector-borne diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus.

Stakeholder perspective: TELUS Health

TELUS Health, a business unit of the social-purpose driven TELUS Communications Inc., is a Canadian provider of digital health technology that focuses on improving access to health care including mental health services by connecting health teams, and empowering patients to manage their health proactively. TELUS Health offers virtual and in-person physical and mental healthcare through an array of products, services and clinics such as: TELUS Health MyCare, TELUS Health Virtual Care, TELUS Health Virtual Pharmacy, and its 14 TELUS Health Care Centres. There are currently 10 million Canadians covered by TELUS Health and 19 million users covered by virtual care, health benefits management, personal health and preventive care services.

Source: TELUS Health