Combatting Canada’s Youth Mental Health Crisis Through Literacy
As youth mental health issues continue to rise across Canada, it has become evident that education is important for fostering resilience and well-being. According to the National Library of Medicine, North American youth mental health has been a concern since the late 1990s, and issues such as COVID-19, ongoing climate change, social media, and socioeconomic stress are now thought to exacerbate the situation. In a survey conducted by CAMH, 51% of Ontario students reported a moderate-to-serious level of psychological distress. Additionally, over 90% of school principals in Ontario reported needing some or a lot of support for students’ mental health and well-being. Recent policy efforts to improve mental health awareness and support within the education system, particularly in Ontario, highlight the growing recognition of this need. Ontario's introduction of a new mental health curriculum for Grade 10 students, implemented in September 2024, stands as a promising step forward, while in provinces such as Quebec, mental health education has often been criticized for being insufficient.
The Canadian Strategy for Mental Health Canadian Strategy for Mental Health identifies schools and centres as privileged places to broach mental health with children and adolescents due to their accessibility as an entry point to both youths and parents. A recent study found significant improvements in students’ mental health literacy levels through the application of a mental health literacy resource by school teachers in secondary school classrooms. Similar studies on the impacts of this mental health literacy program in Canadian secondary schools have been conducted over twenty-seven times, finding that students’ mental health knowledge and attitudes were significantly improved and that these positive results were sustained over time. The curriculum resource used in these programs is called “The Guide”, and consists of six modules: the stigma of mental illness, understanding mental health and wellness, understanding mental disorders and their treatments, experiences of mental illness, seeking help and finding support, and the importance of positive mental health. Teachers take part in a one-day training session before teaching, and the resource implementation takes around 10-12 hours of instruction time. Based on numerous studies and positive results, a simple curriculum resource integrated into typical secondary school practices may be able to improve student mental health literacy while simultaneously ensuring teachers are informed on the topic.
Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Natalie Pierre recognized these results, and for years has been pushing for a greater focus on mental health education in schools, stating that; “We teach our kids a lot of things in schools. We teach them physical health education, we teach them sexual health education, we teach them first aid, history, biology. But we don’t actually teach mental health literacy [sic].”
Ms. Pierre first proposed a motion to the Ontario legislature in December 2022, calling on the Ministry of Education to further expand mental-health literacy in schools. In May 2023, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, announced that the Ontario government would be updating their Grade 10 Career Studies curriculum and introducing mandatory in-class instruction resources for teachers and students on mental health literacy in Grades 7 and 8. Under Policy Memorandum 169, this mandatory curriculum, developed alongside mental health organizations and the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, aims to increase students’ understanding, reduce stigma, and equip them with the skills to manage their mental health. The curriculum covers topics such as recognizing the signs of mental health challenges, understanding how to seek help, and developing strategies for self-care and stress management. By providing students with the knowledge and skills early, Ontario’s policy may help prevent the escalation of mental health issues and help students develop lifelong coping mechanisms.
Across Canada, other provinces have also begun to address youth mental health, making changes to investment decisions and policies. In 2023, the government of Alberta invested over $50 million in 79 two-year pilot projects in schools across the province, utilizing new and innovative approaches to support students’ mental health. These projects aim to encourage student well-being, providing support and services such as counselling, social and emotional learning, student assessment, and training for school staff. Similarly, British Columbia has implemented the ‘Mental Health in Schools (MHiS) Strategy’, which provides a pathway for mental health promotion in the K-12 education system. The strategy focuses on compassionate systems leadership, capacity building, and mental health in the classroom, aiming to include positive mental health in all aspects of the education system. These early actions taken by the Albertan and British Columbian governments are heading in the right direction, showing their communities that they are making significant efforts in the mental health education space.
Although progress seems to be underway in Western provinces, Quebec still lags behind. While Quebec has taken some steps toward supporting student mental health, many have argued that its policies fall short in comparison to other provinces, as mental health education is not mandatory and is generally addressed on a case-by-case basis by schools through counsellors. The government of Quebec committed to promoting mental health in schools through various initiatives, including creating a guide on listening and de-escalation tactics for teachers and establishing partnerships with local mental health organizations. However, these efforts are often fragmented and hard to find, without centralized or mandated educational materials. One such effort is Quebec’s Strategy to Provide Academic Assistance and Support Well-Being at School. This aims to support the education network by hosting mini-conferences and a symposium to discuss relevant topics, while including investment targets to support various initiatives that contribute to the strategy’s goals. However, there is no centralized database of these initiatives or information which quantitatively or qualitatively measures their impact.
Given the lack of centralized resources and standardized policies, Quebec’s youth mental health statistics paint a staggering picture, highlighting an urgent need for comprehensive support. Statistique Quebec recently released its 2022-23 report on the health of high school students and showed a significant decline in mental health, with 20% of students reporting a diagnosed anxiety disorder, up from 9% in 2010-11. Additionally diagnosed depression is up from 4.9% in 2010-11 to 7% in 2022-23 and ADD/ADHD is up from 13% in 2010-11 to 25% in 2022-23.
In an interview with La Presse Canadienne, Dr. Tina Montreuil, professor and researcher in the Department of Education and Counselling Psychology at McGill University, commented on the impact of these numbers, mentioning they might not be absolute increases.
“There's also the fact that the public is more aware of what a generalized anxiety disorder is. This probably means that parents and teachers will refer young people more quickly," she said, "It's possible that we're doing a better job of identifying and therefore capturing a larger proportion of the population who were experiencing distress than in the past."
“Either way”, Montreuil says, "Let's use this energy, this emotion that it creates in us to see these incidences (of mental health problems) on the rise to mobilize ourselves into action to rehabilitate our young people and above all to prevent the next generation. Rather than becoming paralyzed by the anguish this creates for us, let's take preventive action."
Policy plays a key role in determining the future of mental health education. Ontario’s new curriculum serves as an example of how government action can drive systemic change, affecting both the availability and effectiveness of mental health education in schools. By mandating mental health education, the government is signalling its commitment to addressing youth mental health as a public health priority. For other provinces, including Quebec, Ontario’s policy may serve as a model for integrating mental health education into the broader curriculum. Or, at the very least, Quebec’s government must start re-evaluating its mental health policies and support systems to effectively tackle this growing challenge before it is too late.