Last updated May 7, 2026. MenTELL was founded in Calgary, Alberta by Zak Hussein with a group of everyday Canadian men. Now in our fourth year. Zak is spearheading the national #BeTheFlare initiative for Men’s Mental Health Month 2026.
What is #BeTheFlare? A simple, peer-to-peer Canadian campaign for Men’s Mental Health Month 2026. One short video. One honest sentence. Two brothers tagged. Pass it in 48 hours. No money asked. Just voices.
The goal: reach one million Canadians during Men’s Mental Health Month 2026 (June 1 to 30).
How do I join? Film 15 to 45 seconds on your phone, say two brothers’ names out loud, tag @mentell.ca, post, and pass the flare.
Crisis? 9-8-8, free, 24/7, English or French.
Calgary, AB. MenTELL announces #BeTheFlare, our national peer-to-peer campaign for Men’s Mental Health Month across Canada in June 2026.
MenTELL was started in June 2023 by a group of everyday Canadian men from all walks of life. The movement has roots in Calgary and is national in reach. We are not therapists. We are not experts. We are a group of everyday Canadian men who looked around and saw too many men in our lives carrying something alone, and too many of them not making it.
During June 2026, MenTELL is running #BeTheFlare nationally throughout Men’s Mental Health Month. Now in our fourth year, MenTELL continues to grow as a Canadian grassroots men’s mental health movement.
What #BeTheFlare actually is
It is a five-step peer-to-peer chain.
- Film one sentence on your phone. Something you wish you had told your younger self about life, struggle, or asking for help. 15 to 45 seconds. No filters.
- say two names out loud. Look at the camera and say two brothers in your life by name.
- Pass the flare in 48 hours. Close with: “I am keeping the flare alive. You have got 48 hours. #BeTheFlare.”
- Tag those two brothers in the caption.
- Invite @mentell.ca as a Collab on Instagram. Your video lands directly on the MenTELL page.
The vulnerability is not in any one post. It is in the accumulation. One man talks to a gym. Another talks to his kid. Another talks to himself at 22. Put 500 of those together and the wall of men speaking up becomes impossible to ignore.
The Canadian numbers behind the campaign
The numbers behind the mission:
- Roughly 75% of suicide deaths in Canada, per the Mental Health Commission of Canada citing the Public Health Agency of Canada are men, per Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- Per the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation‘s 2025 Canadian Men’s Health Study (Intensions Consulting, n=2,000), nearly 2 in 3 Canadian men have never used mental health services.
- 64% of Canadian men in that same study reported moderate-to-high stress.
- Men have made up the majority of suicide deaths in Canada for over four decades, per the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
The four anchor moments inside June 2026
- Men’s Mental Health Month, all of June, hosted at mensmentalhealthmonth.ca.
- Men’s Mental Health Week, June 9 to 15, hosted at mensmentalhealthweek.ca. Manitoba has separately legislated Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week through Bill 217 (The Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week Act), which defines the legislated provincial week as the week before the third Sunday in June (Father’s Day).
- Men’s Mental Health Awareness Day, June 13, the heart of the week.
- PTSD Awareness Month, all of June, with National PTSD Awareness Day on June 27 per Statistics Canada.
- International Men’s Health Week, June 15 to 21, ending on Father’s Day.
How to join, no matter who you are
If you are a Canadian man
Post your video on June 1 or whenever you can. Visit our Speak Up page for the full instructions.
If you are an organization, employer, school, or government office
Use mensmentalhealthmonth.ca as your campaign URL. Email us through our Contact page for partner assets.
If you are a journalist or content creator
We are a Canadian movement, with roots in Calgary and available for interviews. Contact us. We can put you in touch with men in our community who are willing to share their story on the record.
If today is hard
Call or text 988 to reach Talk Suicide Canada free, 24/7. Indigenous men, Hope for Wellness at 1-855-242-3310. Veterans, VAC Assistance Service at 1-800-268-7708. Free counselling, 988 Talk Suicide Canada at .
One last thing
The man watching your video might be the man who needed to hear that exact sentence at exactly this moment. You do not have to know who he is. You just have to say it.
Join #BeTheFlare on the Speak Up page.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Men’s Health Foundation 2025 Canadian Men’s Health Study (Intensions Consulting, n=2,000), Mental Health Commission of Canada, Manitoba Bill 217.
Verified Canadian resources for men
If you are looking for further Canadian information beyond MenTELL, two trusted sources to bookmark are HeadsUpGuys, a free men’s depression resource built at the University of British Columbia, and the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, the Canadian non-profit behind the 2025 Canadian Men’s Health Study and the Don’t Change Much platform.
If you, or a man you love, are in crisis, please call or text 9-8-8. Free. 24/7. Anywhere in Canada.
