Morneau Shepell released its monthly Mental Health Index™ report, showing a consistent negative mental health score in Canada for the fourth consecutive month. The findings show that the ongoing impact of COVID-19, coupled with the increased awareness and societal response to anti-Black racism, continue to affect the mental health of Canadians.

The Mental Health Index™ score is -10. The score measures the improvement or decline in mental health from the pre-2020 benchmark of 75. This month’s overall score is one point higher than the score last month. The Mental Health Index™ also tracks sub-scores against the benchmark, measuring the risk of depression (-12.4), anxiety (-12.3), optimism (-11.4), work productivity (-11.1) and isolation (-11.0). While the sub-scores remain low, all areas have improved when compared to each previous month.

Strong correlation between Black Canadians’ mental health and anti-Black racism awareness

The killing of Black American, George Floyd, initiated an international anti-Black racism awareness movement. The Mental Health Index™ found that overall, nearly 70 per cent of individuals believe that racism is a problem in Canada. Twenty (20) per cent believe that racism is a problem in their workplace. When comparing results by race, 62 per cent of individuals who identified as Black agreed or strongly agreed that racism is a problem in their workforce, compared to 14 per cent of individuals who identified as White.

Respondents who identified as Black showed a 1.8-point decrease in their Mental Health Index™ score between May and June, and a 0.9-point increase to -17.7 in July. Those who identified as White showed consistent improvement without the same decline in June, with a 1.2-point increase between May and June and a 1.8-point increase in July.

These results demonstrate that the most intense period of awareness and response to anti-Black racism corresponded with a decline in mental health scores among Black Canadians.  As the conversation on systemic racism continues the mental health score of Black Canadians is showing improvement. Looking forward, 40 per cent of all respondents feel that systemic racism is likely to decrease in Canada as a result of heightened anti-Black racism awareness, while 33 per cent are unsure and 27 per cent feel that systemic racism is unlikely to decrease.