The development of a Mental Health Strategy for Canada was one of the key responsibilities given to the Commission when it was established in 2007.
The release in 2009 of Toward Recovery and Well-Being: A Framework for a Mental Health Strategy for Canada marked the completion of a first phase in developing the Strategy. It set out a vision containing seven broad goals for transforming mental health systems in Canada and has become an important reference point for mental health policy and practice across the country.
Learn more about the seven goals for a transformed mental health system.
We are now finalizing the first ever Mental Health Strategy that will translate the vision and goals of the Framework into a strategic plan.
The Strategy has been informed by the voices of thousands of people with a wide diversity of points of view and experience, beginning with the vast testimony that informed the most thorough mental health study in Canadian history – Out of the Shadows At Last. Since 2008, the MHCC has repeatedly heard from individuals and organizations across the country on what the strategy should contain.
Toward Recovery and Well-Being drew on the input gathered from fifteen meetings held in twelve different cities and from 1700 individuals and 250 organizations who participated in an online consultation. More recently, the draft Strategy was put under the microscope during another round of engagement with stakeholders representing a mixture of perspectives and constituencies.
Learn more about our consultations.
The Mental Health Strategy for Canada will focus on six strategic directions:
- Shift Upstream and Across Sectors
- Transform Relationships and Uphold Rights
- Strengthen Community Capacity
- Improve Equity
- Seek Innovation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis
- Mobilize Leadership
The first five strategic directions set out an agenda for transformation. The sixth identifies the leadership and infrastructure needed to enable transformation.
Each strategic direction will identify a small number of priorities for action that will have the highest impact and produce the best possible return on investment. At the same time, the overall mix of priorities will be balanced to reflect the issues that confront different sectors and population groups.
Our intention is to deliver a strategy that sets out priorities for action that will promote mental health, prevent mental illness wherever possible and create positive change for all people and families affected by the full range of mental health problems and illnesses.
We need to push the limits of political feasibility in order to truly transform the mental health system, yet also propose actions that can be implemented even during difficult economic times. The Strategy must also enable a broad range of stakeholders to take action and should not depend exclusively on government endorsement for its success.
The vision and goals set out in Toward Recovery and Well-Being reflect a broad consensus for transforming the mental health system in Canada. Now is the time to turn that consensus into commitment and action. The Mental Health Commission of Canada is counting on all people living in Canada to help realize this vision – a Canada where all people “have the opportunity to achieve the best possible mental health and well-being.”