Ontario branches of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in North Bay, Sudbury/Manitoulin, Muskoka–Parry Sound, Sault Ste. Marie, Cochrane–Timiskaming, Kenora, Fort Frances, and Thunder Bay urge party leaders to commit to finding solutions to the critical mental health and addictions challenges gripping northern communities.
“We need concrete solutions on how to address the barriers to access and service gaps faced by our Northern communities,” said CMHA North Bay and
District CEO Mary Davis. “We hope to hear from each leader at the debate on how they will make mental health and addictions a priority issue.”
- The Association of Municipalities of Ontario reports that homelessness has risen by 204 per cent since 2016 in northern Ontario, four times the increase in non-northern communities.
- Five of the top 10 communities with the highest rate of opioid-related deaths in 2023 are in northern Ontario.
- According to Public Health Ontario, the northwest region of the province has the highest prevalence of fair/poor mental health status for children aged 1 to 17 years old.
- Indigenous representation among chronically homeless populations is averaging more than 44 per cent in northern regions compared to nearly 14 per cent in non-northern regions.
The call comes as all major party leaders hold their first debate in North Bay.
Mental health and addiction programs in the north have long been overwhelmed by the demand for services. The region has been hit hardest by the ongoing intersecting mental health, addiction, and homelessness crises faced by the rest of the province, as well as the distinctive and highly disproportionate impact on Indigenous populations. A significant proportion of individuals who are homeless identify as Indigenous. In Nipissing District, the figure stood at 42 per cent in 2021.
Northern Ontario communities have also been hit hardest by the drug poisoning crisis, with mortality rates more than twice as high as the provincial average. In 2024, there was an average of 60.4 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 population in northern Ontario overall, compared to the provincial average of 22.