Alberta, Atlantic Canada and Ontario report highest increase in anxiety and depression levels since onset of COVID-19

Alberta, Atlantic Canada and Ontario report increased levels of anxiety and depression that are the highest in Canada, while Quebec reports the lowest increase in both anxiety and depression levels. For those Canadians recently unemployed, 57% cite the negative impact of job loss on their mental health.

These and other key findings are featured in both the Summary Report and Full Report of the study, “Mental Health in Crisis: How COVID-19 Is Impacting Canadians.”

MHRC’s study has been designed to capture Canadians’ perception of their level of anxiety and depression, and to identify and evaluate the factors that influence mental health. This inaugural poll is part of a year-long effort to track the COVID-19 mental health crisis.

“We are committed to advancing impact-focused research to help Canadians achieve better mental health, especially through this pandemic. To inform stakeholders, governments and other partners in the sector, MHRC has committed to producing a series of polls over the next year,” says Akela Peoples, CEO of MHRC.

In addition to the quadrupling of high levels of anxiety and doubling of high levels of depression reported earlier in the study’s initial findings, MHRC’s survey shows:

• Residents of Alberta report the largest increase in high anxiety levels (+20%), while residents of Ontario (+17%), Atlantic Canada (+16%) and BC (+15%) report a similar increase, and Quebec residents report the smallest increase (+10%). Similarly, high depression levels increase the most among residents in Atlantic Canada (+12%), followed by Ontario and Alberta (+8% each), and least among Quebec residents (+2%).

• 28% of Canadians have indicated an increase in the consumption of alcohol per week since the onset of COVID-19, but feel the impact on their mental health is relatively neutral at this point.

• Canadians with children younger than age 18 note a higher positive impact on their mental health from in-person interactions with family members in their household (41%) than those without children in their household (30%), despite an increase in non-physical conflict (36% and 23%, respectively).

• Urban residents report feeling significantly more supported by their employers in their mental health needs (before COVID-19: 51%; since: 53%) than rural residents (28%; and 34%, respectively).

• 57% of recently unemployed Canadians report their mental health is negatively impacted by job loss.

• The next highest concern for employed Canadians is the economic downturn (48%), followed by having a family member lose their job (43%), losing work hours or pay (42%) and being laid off (38%).

“What our study tells us is that COVID-19 is impacting the mental health of Canadians in notably different ways, and that Canada’s recovery will require solid data to inform policy-making and effective services and programs for Canadians,” says John Trainor, Chair of MHRC’s Board of Directors and adjunct faculty member, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto.

The poll was conducted in both official languages by Pollara Strategic Insights for MHRC from April 22 to April 28, and engaged 1,803 Canadians 18 years of age or older and all provinces and territories.