Most of us already knew this. Now there is a report that proves it.
On May 28, the Canadian Mental Health Association released Closing the Distance: Mental Health in Rural and Remote Canada, a 41-page national look at mental health outside the big cities. The report draws from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. For rural Canadian men, the numbers hit harder than expected.
This is the foundation we are building Be the Flare on for Men’s Mental Health Month Canada this June.
What the Report Says About Rural and Remote Canada
About 18 percent of Canadians live in a rural or remote community. That is roughly 1 in 9 of us spread across 400 small communities and 74.6 percent of the country’s landmass. We make more than a quarter of Canada’s GDP. We are farmers, oil patch workers, fishermen, miners, loggers, ranchers, paramedics, electricians, mechanics, fathers, sons, brothers.
Rural and remote Canadians actually rate their own mental health higher than people in cities. 87.4 percent say theirs is good, very good, or excellent, compared to 84.5 percent in urban areas.
That sounds like good news. Read the fine print and the picture changes.
Rural Men Are at the Top of Every Risk List
The report breaks the data down by gender. Here is what the numbers say about us:
- 66.6 percent of rural and remote men report regular drinking. Highest rate in the country.
- 15.4 percent of rural men smoke daily or occasionally. Higher than urban men (12.7 percent).
- 24 percent of rural men report frequent or daily cannabis use.
- 12.7 percent of rural men have consulted a professional about a mental health concern in the past year. The lowest of any group studied.
Rural and remote areas also have a higher overall rate of substance use disorders, 24.4 percent compared to 19.9 percent in cities.
Read those again. We are the most likely to drink. The most likely to smoke. The most likely to use cannabis daily. And the least likely to talk to anyone about what is going on.
The Help Is Further Away
If a rural Canadian needs psychiatric care in hospital, 29.4 percent face a high or very high travel burden to get to it. For urban Canadians, the number is 4.3 percent. In Yukon, 77.2 percent of patients face a high travel burden. Manitoba 56 percent. Saskatchewan 57.2 percent.
That is a system gap dressed up as a personal failing. When help is three hours away, “just go to therapy” stops being useful advice.
Why This Hits Different for Us
The Mental Health Commission of Canada reports that close to 75 percent of the roughly 4,000 suicide deaths in Canada each year are men. The Canadian Men’s Health Foundation 2025 research found 64 percent of Canadian men reported moderate-to-high stress, and 67 percent had never used a professional mental health service.
Now layer the CMHA report on top. The men least likely to talk are the same men carrying the highest rates of substance use and living the furthest from psychiatric care.
That is the situation we are working in.
What MenTELL Is Doing About It
This June marks our fourth year. MenTELL.ca was founded in Calgary in June 2023 by a small group of everyday men who decided silence was killing us. We do not have therapists on staff. We do not run a traditional charity. What we have built is a brotherhood of men from across Canada who saw what was happening and stopped waiting for permission to act.
Our Be the Flare campaign is built on a small mechanic with a big reach. One line. Two names. 48 hours.
You film a short video answering one question: what would you tell your younger self? You say two men’s names out loud, tag them in the caption, invite @MenTELL.ca as an Instagram collaborator, use #BeTheFlare, and pass it forward within 48 hours.
A flare is a signal in the dark. If you are even 1 percent better today, the thing that helped you might help one of your brothers.
We are aiming to reach one million Canadians this June.
If You Are Carrying Something Heavy Right Now
In Canada, you can call or text 9-8-8 anytime, 24/7. If you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, the Hope for Wellness Helpline is also there. 1-855-242-3310.
Do not wait until it gets worse. We have been there. We are still here. So can you be.
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