Canadian Mental Health Association is a 4-star charity. It has an A- Results Reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated, 59 cents are available to go to the cause, which is outside Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1918, Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is one of Canada's oldest voluntary mental health organizations. The charity provides services and resources needed to maintain mental health, integrate into the community, and support recovery from mental illness. CMHA reports that one in five people in Canada live with a mental illness and 4,500 Canadians die by suicide each year. CMHA runs three programs: Systems Change, Social Change, and Strengthening the Federation. In F2024, CMHA spent $6.3m on its programs and grants. It did not provide a spending breakdown by program.

The Systems Change program works to create a stronger mental health system in which Canadians have access to community mental health services. In F2024, CMHA participated in two parliamentary roundtables and held 38 meetings with 50 federal decision makers to advance healthcare policy and legislation in Canada. The charity specifically advocated for better funding for mental health, addictions, and substance use healthcare. CMHA also published 15 policy briefs, fact sheets, and research papers to inform public policy and engage the media on mental health topics. The three most accessed reads were Preventing Drug-Related Deaths, Let the Kids Be Who They Are Without Fear, and Investing in Community.

The Social Change program works to create a society that understands and fosters good mental health. CMHA’s Campus Peer Support pilot program trained 37 students across five post-secondary campuses to support peers struggling with mental health. The charity engaged 300 organizations and 250,000 employees through its Not Myself Today program. In F2024, CMHA recorded 1.4 billion media impressions across 1,518 media outlets.

The Strengthening the Foundation program works to create a unified, effective, and highly regarded CMHA federation. CMHA provides funding and works to strengthen the capacity of the federation to deliver quality programs and services. The charity shares knowledge and develops tools and materials for the federation’s use. There are 69 local CMHA branches across 11 provincial/territorial divisions. In F2024, CMHA launched a federation newsletter that reached 900 people with quarterly updates on national initiatives.  

CMHA also released its F2024 report on the State of Mental Health. Key findings of the report include:

• Canada spends less than what peer countries spend on mental health care (6% in Canada, 15% in France, 11% in Germany, 9% in the UK and Sweden) as part of overall healthcare budgets.
• 57% of people aged 18-24 who had early signs of mental illness said that cost was an obstacle to getting mental health services.
• 38% of Indigenous Peoples reported their mental health was “poor” or “fair”.
• People with the lowest incomes report having anxiety 2.4 times more often than those with the highest incomes.
• 50% of people with mental health disabilities are employed.

Canadian Mental Health Association’s audited financial statements use line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci used the charity’s T3010 to report program, fundraising, and administrative costs.

CMHA received $6.2m in donations and special events revenue in F2024. The charity also received $1.4m in government funding and $2.2m in fees for its workplace mental health program. The charity spent $6.3m on its programs and grants, which is 61% of revenue, and recorded a surplus of $939k, which is 9% of revenue.

CMHA spent $1.6m on fundraising, which is 26% of donations, and $1.5m on administration, which is 15% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 41%. For every dollar donated, 59 cents are available to go to the cause, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range.

CMHA has $6.9m in reserve funds (cash and investments). The charity’s reserves can cover annual program and grant costs for one year and one month. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

CMHA uses external fundraisers. In F2024, it paid fundraisers $898k to collect $2.5m. It cost 37 cents to raise a dollar through external fundraisers.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Canadian Mental Health Association for review.

Updated on August 19, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.