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This section introduces the policies of 5 provincial governments in Canada, emerging issues related to mental health and substance use, as well as key statistics and expenditures in the provinces.
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Canadian federalism has resulted in constitutionally entrenched jurisdictions for each level of government. As responsibility for mental healthcare falls largely to the provinces and territories, it is important to highlight how these governments have approached this policy area, as well as their similarities and differences.
The provinces and territories receive funding from two main sources: tax collection through their public insurance plans, and through federal government support. Some mental healthcare is covered by Medicare, including access to physicians (like family doctors) for diagnoses of mental illnesses, as well as hospital and psychiatric care for mental illness. However, a major criticism of Canada’s mental healthcare system is that there is not enough public insurance coverage for mental health services, especially for those that do not have access to employment-based benefits, which includes, for example, private counselling.
In 2017, the federal government announced $5 billion in funding for the provinces and territories for 10 years to improve access to mental health services across the country. This averages out to be $500 million per year. The federal government established “bilateral agreements” between them and each province and territory on shared priorities for this funding.
Through these agreements, the federal and provincial governments all agreed on actions to take to improve mental health services. These actions included:
These 5 provinces are the most populated in Canada, and also vary significantly enough to give a broad picture about how the provinces vary in terms of mental health policy and administration.