This toolkit was developed through consulting 140 Daughters of the Vote from across Canada on the topic of ‘Mental Health’ who have shared their knowledge and experiences on this subject. The development of each section of the toolkit was researched and written through engaging with Daughters who self-identified as ‘experts’ in this field. Our collective goal in creating this toolkit is to equip young women with the tools they need to advocate for improved policies, services, resources, and to support their mental health advocacy in Canada.

To support this goal, our toolkit advances key issues areas pertaining to Canadian mental health issues, including key stakeholders, political party platforms and current strategies utilized by Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal governments to address these issues. It is through the inclusion of this information that we hope to provide a broad understanding of the current mental health landscape, how the issues are currently being approached, and an overview of the affected groups being impacted by these decisions. The toolkit then turns to a discussion of three diverse policy options that attempt to address the gaps in mental health care, though we are not able to cover all issues related to mental health in this toolkit.

It is our hope that this toolkit will spark conversations, lead to bold and innovative policy ideas, and provide youth with the materials they need to pursue change.

We’ve focused on three areas that young women identified as important to them and their communities:

  1. mental health of students,
  2. access to care, and
  3. addictions and mental health