New Data Reveals Escalating Anxiety Among Canadians Amid Political and Economic Turmoil - GreenShield Responds with Free Therapy Initiative to Support All Canadians
GreenShield, Canada's only national non-profit health and benefits provider, offering no-strings-attached two months of free therapy to Canadians looking to start their mental health journey.
TORONTO, March 27, 2025 /CNW/ - As Canada-U.S. trade tensions escalate and the cost of living continues to rise, new data reveals nearly half of Canadians are experiencing heightened anxiety, with tariffs quickly emerging as one of the top drivers.
Last month, GreenShield—a proudly Canadian-owned and operated non-profit health and benefits company—partnered with Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) to identify key trends and gaps in care for Canadians amidst growing economic and political uncertainty. The data revealed a significant spike in anxiety over the past month, with the rising cost of living and political tensions with the U.S. reported among the top stressors for Canadians.
According to this new data:
- In 2024 there was a declining trend in the number of Canadians reporting negative mental health impacts due to economic conditions; however, the start of 2025 marked a sharp spike, with:
- 42% now reporting the economic downturn is negatively affecting their mental health, and
- 39% worrying about the possibility of not being able to pay their bills.
- Nearly 50% of Canadians reported increased anxiety in the past month, with concerns highest among lower-income households and women.
- Almost 40% of Canadians now cite political unpredictability and tensions with the U.S. as a source of heightened anxiety – second only to concerns over the rising cost of living (52%).
- Anxiety is highest in Ontario and British Columbia.
Despite growing demand for mental health support, cost and accessibility continue to be major barriers to care – putting therapy further out of reach for those who need it most. As a purpose-driven non-profit and the country's fastest-growing mental health provider, GreenShield is committed to supporting the mental health of Canadians during challenging times. To help break down these barriers, the company will offer two months of free therapy to Canadians looking to start their mental health journey. The offer includes two sessions with a licensed therapist and an unlimited subscription to digital cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), with no membership or commitment required.
"Time and again, we've seen the deep connection between economic uncertainty and declines in mental well-being. As a proudly Canadian and purpose driven company, we're committed to reducing barriers to care for all Canadians as we collectively navigate this challenging time," said Zahid Salman, President and CEO of GreenShield. "This is about Canadians helping Canadians. Mental health is not just an individual issue – it's a national one. Ensuring Canadians have access to support during tough times strengthens the entire country."
GreenShield's initiative builds on past lessons from economic downturns, including the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which saw surges in mental health challenges. These moments have reinforced a critical truth that during times of financial uncertainty, access to mental health support is more important than ever, yet too often remains out of reach for those who need it.
"Our data confirms that today's political and economic climate is fueling widespread stress and anxiety," said Akela Peoples, CEO of MHRC. "Failing to address the mental health toll of this instability could have long-term consequences for all of us as a country. We're proud to be sharing insights that can help Canadians build better solutions and we applaud GreenShield's impressive leadership in offering free support to all Canadians."
As a non-profit, GreenShield operates without short-term profit-driven shareholders, enabling the company to prioritize people and purpose over profits. GreenShield is committed to reinvesting its excess earnings to directly support the health and well-being of underserved communities. Through GreenShield Cares, the company has committed $75 million to improve the health of over one million Canadians by the end of this year, with a focus on mental health, essential medicines, and chronic disease management. By providing Canadians with a risk-free opportunity to try therapy – at no cost – with an inclusive network of therapists, GreenShield is helping to further reduce barriers to care for equity-seeking Canadians and advancing its mission of Better Health for All. Canadians can access GreenShield's free mental health offer from March 28th until May 28th, 2025 through GreenShield's website.
Research Methodology:
MHRC's national polling is part of a multi-year effort to track the mental health challenges of COVID-19 and beyond. Since March 2020, the goal of MHRC's polling has been to capture Canadians' reported perception of their level of anxiety and depression, and to identify and evaluate the factors that influence mental well-being. Methodology: The online survey was conducted among a sample of 4,050 adult Canadians from Feb 4-24, 2025. This was the twenty-third poll of this study. Results between the polls are compared where applicable. This report focuses solely on the overall measures of mental health as well as the impact of the current economic conditions. While total results include the additional 4000 BC sample, these national results have been weighted by the most current census data in terms of gender, age, & region to ensure the total sample is representative of the population as a whole.
Omnibus Survey
A national one-time survey deployed to understand Canadians' experience with anxiety as it relates to current economic and political stressors.
Methodology: The survey was conducted with 1,500 adults in Canada from February 20 - 25, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt -in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source. The margin of error for a comparable probability -based random sample of the same size is +/ - 2.53%, 19 times out of 20. The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada's population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
About GreenShield
As Canada's only national non-profit health and benefits company, GreenShield believes health care is a right, not a privilege. We're dedicated to improving health outcomes, driving systemic change, and building a future where every Canadian can reach their full health potential.
We are revolutionizing the health and benefits experience with coverage and care in one place. Through our unique integrated payer-provider ("payvider") model, offering insurance, administering benefits and paying claims as a 'payer' while offering health services such as mental health, pharmacy, telemedicine and chronic disease management as a 'provider'.
As a non-profit social enterprise, we don't have shareholders, which allows us to prioritize and reinvest our excess earnings to directly support underserved communities. Through GreenShield Cares, we've committed $75 million to improve the health of over one million Canadians by the end of 2025, focusing on mental health, essential medicines, and chronic disease management. Our scalable initiatives deliver meaningful change in pursuit of Better Health for All.
GreenShield is proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, a leading Imagine Canada Caring Company, and named on the Fortune's Change the World list.
About Mental Health Research Canada
Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) is a national charity that serves to advance mental health through studentships, granting, data collection/analysis and strategic initiatives. As a leading mental health organization in Canada, we are dedicated to improving the lives of all Canadians by advancing mental health knowledge in unique ways—notably by leading, seeding and influencing to create better mental health systems. One example of our work is funded by Health Canada to monitor and report on the mental health of Canadians. We collect population data, analyze and report on it to governments and stakeholders nationally to support data informed decision-making on what people need and how our services are performing. Mental health systems and services cannot improve without research – research is an investment in the future.
SOURCE GreenShield
Media Contacts: GreenShield, Sarah Mortimer, Communications Manager, [email protected], 647-221-9037; Mental Health Research Canada, Brittany Saab, Senior Communications Manager, [email protected]
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