Access to mental health care in Canada

Abstract

There has been ongoing national discourse about barriers to mental health care services in Canada. The purpose of the study is to better understand these barriers, with a focus on Canadians of color. To that end, this study surveyed 1501 adults representative of the general population, collected by the Angus Reid Institute. Over half of the respondents had sought out mental health care and experienced barriers to access. People of color (visible minorities and Indigenous people) had more difficulty accessing care, as did younger adults and those with lower incomes. The most common difficulties were largely structural: long waitlists (62%), financial barriers (58%), lack of resources/professionals in the area (47%), difficulty finding specialists (41%), and difficulty accessing in-person care during the pandemic (34%). Many noted negative experiences with mental health professionals (35%). More English-speaking than French-speaking Canadians reported barriers to care overall. Race/ethnicity was related to difficulties when trying to access mental health care, as many could not find someone of the same group (25% of Black respondents), someone who spoke their preferred language (22% of South Asian respondents), or they had prior negative experiences (50% of Indigenous respondents). We discuss the implications of these findings, including the critical need to increase the supply and diversity of mental health providers across Canada. This study is one of the first to provide quantitative data on the perceived barriers faced by Canadians in accessing mental health care while exploring the role of language, race, and ethnicity as variables that may influence access.