The Federal Government Strategy for Men’s Health has the Potential to be a Game Changer

Generally, men experience higher rates of negative health and social outcomes than women. Not only do men have shorter life expectancies, but they also experience higher rates of substance abuse—likely due to internalized depression—and suffer more frequent workplace accidents and fatalities because society relies on men for its most dangerous roles.

Men also face a higher risk of fatal infections and cancers, a vulnerability attributed in part to having only one X chromosome in their karyotype as well as due to lower compatibility between their mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Furthermore, men die by suicide at about three times the rate of women (a figure that rises to about eight times for those going through a divorce). In education, boys face lower achievement levels and higher dropout rates, which is understood to be due to several factors including a lack of male role models in schools, learning styles that differ from those of girls, and their perceived lack of curriculum relevance. Finally, men are disproportionately represented in statistics regarding homelessness, criminal activity, and incarceration.

We often take these negative outcomes for granted. However, we must pay closer attention to the immense contributions men make to society and the staggering opportunity cost incurred when they are unable to contribute. Men contribute a much higher proportion of Canadian tax revenue through personal taxes as well as business taxes from the companies they founded. This revenue is critical for our national security and social programs. Additionally, men are responsible for a vast majority of innovation (including over 90% of patents) and fill the critical roles our world economy relies on, such as construction, trucking, the merchant marine, and the military.

Ensuring the success of our young men has a direct, positive impact on our communities. Historically, however, the health, wellbeing, and success of men and boys have been an afterthought across almost all cultures. This mindset is partly rooted in deep evolutionary mechanisms, where humanity tends to put higher pressure on men, perhaps to ensure that only the “most fit” men remain part of our gene pool. It is also a matter of pragmatism. Men are often called upon during crises or to support activities that are difficult or unsafe. They are expected to make sacrifices in the service of their communities; during such times, their physical and emotional wellbeing is rarely an immediate priority. Consequently, most cultures prepare boys for these eventualities by rewarding risk-taking and encouraging them to deprioritize their own safety while striving for high-value goals.

While this societal mindset helps communities withstand crises and drive progress, it takes a heavy toll on our men and boys’ mental health as well as physical safety, when they begin to believe their achievements are more important than their safety and wellbeing. As a corollary, they may feel they are only valued for their utility. Specifically, the high expectation for men to secure high-paying jobs or bring more resources into a relationship puts immense pressure on them to achieve.

This reasoning is probably a significant factor for why men do not seek help when they should. For example, men are less likely than women to go for medical checkups or seek mental health support when experiencing adversity.

Furthermore, the high expectations society puts on men results in a lower threshold for “failure.” We have become adept at creating narratives where a woman can be a valuable member of society without professional achievement, but we have yet to do the same for our men and boys given the critical role they play in our economy and society. This is likely why men are more prone to substance abuse or pursuing negative goals (such as crime) if they feel positive goals are unattainable.

The failure of a substantial portion of our men and boys has another, long term impact on society. Beside the opportunity costs mentioned above, a young man who does not succeed in finding a job with a sufficient income will have difficulty securing a relationship. Notably, we reserve the epithet “loser” almost exclusively for underachieving men. While we are aware of Canada’s low birthrate and its eventual cost to our society, we generally ascribe this to the choices made by women. In doing so, we ignore the strong probability that this phenomenon could be largely due to the lower achievement of our young men today and their difficulty in finding suitable partners which will lead to lower marriage rates and birth rates

Being healthy is a critical requirement for the success of our men and boys. The good news is that the federal government  is recognizing the importance of healthy men in our communities and we are moving toward a more equitable and productive mindset in this area. Late last year, the federal government announced an initiative to begin consultations on men’s and boys’ health. Canadians have until June 1st, 2026, to provide their perspectives.

At the Canadian Centre for Men and Families (CCMF), we have spent the last 12 years supporting men’s mental health. Having helped over 10,000 men, we have gained deep insight into the issues affecting their physical and mental wellbeing. Based on this experience, we offer the following recommendations for the Canadian National Strategy for Men and Boys’ Health.

An effective men’s health strategy must incorporate a wide variety of areas, including the job sector, family courts, the educational system, and male identity. It must address interconnected systems—workplaces (including high-risk and low-wage sectors), family law, education, justice, and community life—as well as evolving concepts of masculinity.

It must be interdisciplinary, recognizing that legal stress, financial strain, family breakdown, domestic abuse, and youth violence all interact to shape men’s mental health outcomes. This strategy requires the engagement of multiple government ministries, including Health, Public Safety, WAGE, Housing, Indigenous Services, Employment and Social Development, Veterans Affairs, and Justice.

It needs to move beyond a pure research-only focus to adequately funded and sustained evidence-informed interventions and service delivery

The strategy must address the core causes of suicide and mental health challenges without excluding politically complex topics, provided the analysis is evidence-based and trauma-informed. It must move beyond research-only initiatives toward adequately funded service delivery, including scaling up existing infrastructure by supporting agencies with a long history of effective service to men.

1. Specific Funding for Men’s Mental Health Services

• The Need: There is a systemic gap in services specifically targeted at the mental health of boys and men.
• Recommendations:
  • Provide dedicated federal funding for gender-responsive psychotherapy, peer-led group trauma recovery, and evidence-based parenting courses for fathers.
  • Establish a national 24/7 crisis hotline with staff specifically trained in male-centric de-escalation and resource referral.
  • Re-assess current social and health programs to ensure they are not based on biased understandings of gender roles.

2. Stronger Promotion of Men’s Health

• The Need: Men engage the medical establishment less frequently than women, even though they are at a higher risk of negative health outcomes, such as most cancers.
• Recommendation: Initiate a national marketing strategy that reminds men they matter and emphasizes the importance of nutrition, exercise, and regular medical screenings.

3. Legal Navigation & Support for Male Victims of IPV (Intimate Partner Violence)

• The Need: Many men face the “procedural misuse” of legal and bureaucratic systems during relationship breakdowns—where these systems are used as tools of harassment. Men also struggle with the high costs of legal representation and supervised access, which can sever the father-child bond.
• Recommendations:
  • Fund legal clinics (modeled after the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic) dedicated to male and gender-diverse victims of intimate partner violence (IPV).
  • Provide funding for family/criminal law navigators and subsidies for court-mandated supervised visits to ensure financial hardship does not separate fathers from their children.

4. Expansion of Dedicated Male Domestic Violence Shelters

• The Need: A recent (2026) Statistics Canada Report indicates that about 50% of physical IPV victims are men, yet shelter capacity is severely skewed. While roughly 600 government-funded shelters exist for women, there are currently no equivalent government-funded shelters specifically for men and their children.
• Recommendation: Implement the recommendation of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime by directing federal investment toward the creation of domestic violence shelters specifically for men and their children.

5. Addressing the “Educational Disconnect” for Boys

• The Need: Boys generally underperform in the school system compared to girls, partly due to a lack of alternatives to the academic stream. This leads to long-term social and economic marginalization, social isolation, and an increased risk of anti-social behavior.
• Recommendations:
  • Engage provinces to ensure schools recognize that boys may learn differently and adapt curricula accordingly.
  • Revitalize technical and vocational education by implementing a pilot program based on the German “Dual System,” creating industry-school partnerships for high-paying, skill-based careers.
  • Create marketing strategies to encourage young men to enter health, education, and social services as viable career paths.

6. Restorative Justice in Family Court Allegations

• The Need: Unsubstantiated or malicious allegations of abuse during custody battles cause immense trauma and drain court resources. Even when exonerated, the “stigma of the charge” often persists.
• Recommendations:
  • Explore restorative justice frameworks for low-risk IPV allegations within family court to prevent unnecessary criminalization.
  • Implement a “Fast-Track Expungement” process for individuals cleared of allegations to protect their reputation and mental health.

7. Review of Mandatory Charging Police Policies

• The Need: Current “primary aggressor” and mandatory arrest policies often rely on physical size differences. This can lead police to arrest a male victim even when he is the one who called for help, disincentivizing men from seeking protection.
• Recommendations:
  • Engage provincial and territorial jurisdictions to transition from “mandatory charging” to “evidence-based charging,” granting police the discretion to assess the full context of a call.
  • Mandate officer training that includes a better understanding of male IPV victimization to ensure stereotypes do not act as a barrier to support.

8. Presumption of Equal Shared Co-Parenting

• The Need: The lack of an involved father is a leading indicator for youth suicide, incarceration, and substance abuse. A recent study has shown that jurisdictions with equal shared parenting see a significant drop in IPV (about 50%) and intimate partner homicides (about 8%).
• Recommendations:
  • Reform the Divorce Act to establish a rebuttable presumption of equal shared co-parenting as being in the “best interests of the child,” except in cases of proven abuse or neglect.
  • Amend the Income Tax Act to remove the “female primary parent presumption” for the Canada Child Benefit, which currently discriminates against children based on the gender of their primary parent.

9. Investigating the Gender Sentencing Gap

• The Need: Data suggests that for identical offenses, men are more likely to be charged, convicted, and given longer custodial sentences than women.
• Recommendation: Commission a federal audit of the Canadian criminal justice system to identify and rectify gender bias in sentencing and conviction rates.

10. Workplace Mental Health & Occupational Safety

• The Need: Men represent the vast majority of workplace fatalities and injuries, particularly in high-risk sectors and first-responder roles. These industries often lack integrated mental health support for trauma and burnout.
• Recommendation: Incentivize “Mental Health Safety Standards” in male-dominated trades by providing tax credits to companies that implement on-site counseling and peer-support programs tailored to blue-collar workers.

11. Support for Indigenous and Marginalized Men

• The Need: Indigenous men experience the highest rates of suicide and incarceration in Canada, rooted in the intersection of historical trauma and gender-specific needs.
• Recommendation: Provide culturally specific funding for land-based healing programs and elder-led mentorship specifically for Indigenous men and boys, ensuring these programs are designed and governed by Indigenous communities.

12. Longitudinal Research on Male Life Outcomes

• The Need: Current policy is often based on data that does not differentiate between the specific life trajectories of men and women.
• Recommendation: Establish a federal research fund for longitudinal studies focusing on male life outcomes, particularly the impact of father-absence, educational disengagement, and social isolation.

13. Promoting Positive Masculinity & Media Literacy

• The Need: There is a pervasive “image gap” where men and boys are frequently portrayed as “toxic” or incompetent (the “bumbling father” trope). This negative reinforcement creates a deficit-based identity for boys, leading to alienation.
• Recommendations:
  • Launch a federally funded “Value of Men” public service campaign to celebrate men as caregivers, educators, and community pillars.
  • Create a specific stream within the Canada Media Fund (CMF) for content that portrays men in diverse, positive, and non-traditional roles.
  • Establish national awards to recognize male-led grassroots initiatives focusing on mentorship and healthy relationships.

14. Appointment of an Associate Minister for Men’s Health (within Health Canada)

The upcoming federal strategy represents a pivotal opportunity to address the long-overlooked health and social disparities facing men and boys in Canada, moving beyond a narrow focus on their utility to prioritize their holistic well-being. By adopting these interdisciplinary recommendations—ranging from gender-responsive mental health funding and legal reforms to educational revitalization and the promotion of positive masculinity—the government can dismantle the systemic barriers that lead to higher rates of suicide, educational dropout, and workplace fatalities. There is an urgent need to transition from research to adequately funded service delivery that recognizes men as essential caregivers, innovators, and community pillars. Ultimately, investing in the success and health of men is not merely a matter of gender equity; it is a vital investment in the stability of Canadian families and the long-term prosperity of society as a whole.