Mental health in Canada carries a price tag most people have never heard. $180 billion every year, and the lead author of the report that produced that number says it is an underestimate because the data gaps make the full picture impossible to capture.

$110 billion of that cost lands directly on employers through lost productivity, long-term disability, and people leaving the workforce entirely. The rest spills into emergency services, homelessness support, and the justice system.

The argument here is not that the system is failing. It is that Canada has never built a preventative one to begin with, and that without a fundamental shift, the number hits $600 billion by 2050.

Topics: mental health Canada, mental health costs, workplace mental health, prevention, CSA report

GUEST: Olga Morawczynski

Originally aired on2026-05-25