Men’s Mental Health Week ran from June 10 to 16, 2024, inside the broader Men’s Mental Health Month we observe each June in Canada. This is our recap of the week, what we heard, what we tried, and what Canadian men told us they need next.
Why this week, every year
The Canadian Mental Health Association uses this week to spotlight a specific crisis: men in Canada die by suicide at roughly three times the rate of women, according to Statistics Canada. About 3,000 of the approximately 4,000 lives lost to suicide each year are men.
What Canadian men told us in 2024
“Speak up before the breaking point”
That was the theme of the week for our community. We received messages from men in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI. Most of them said the same thing: they wished they had spoken up earlier.
The conversation has to start small
Men told us repeatedly that the first conversation cannot be a clinical one. We wrote about that in We’re Not Weak for Needing Help. We’re Human. A coffee, a drive, a text, that is where it actually starts.
Local resources matter most
Men told us that the moment they decide to ask for help, they need a local option. We rebuilt our Resources page around that, mapping by province and need. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has a similar list we link out to.
How our network showed up
Stories
We published Unmasking Men’s Mental Health at the start of the week and Men’s Mental Health Week Starts Now as a daily check-in.
Partners
Across the week we boosted Canadian Men’s Health Foundation events, Canadian Centre for Men and Families peer groups, and HeadsUpGuys from the University of British Columbia. None of this is a one-org job.
Crisis lines stayed front and centre
Every story we published was followed by the same line: call or text 988 to reach Talk Suicide Canada, free and 24/7. Indigenous men were directed to the Hope for Wellness Helpline at 1-855-242-3310. Anyone wanting low-barrier counselling went to 988 Talk Suicide Canada at .
What 2024 changed for us
We changed our defaults
We started planning for 2026 now
We are already working with partners on Men’s Mental Health Month 2026 and the next iteration of #BeTheFlare. The 2024 week told us: do not wait until May to start.
Thank you
Thank you to every man who shared a story, every partner who shared a link, and every reader who forwarded one of our posts to a friend. If you want to be part of 2026, our Speak Up page is the door. Sources: Statistics Canada, CMHA, Mental Health Commission of Canada.
