Understanding the perceived mental health of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic

While the physical health implications of the COVID‑19 pandemic are regularly publicly available, the mental health toll on Canadians is unknown. This article examines the self-perceived mental health of Canadians during the COVID‑19 pandemic and explores associations with various concerns after accounting for socioeconomic and health factors.

Just over half of Canadians aged 15 and older (54%) reported excellent or very good mental health during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Several concerns were also associated with mental health. Notably, after considering the effects of socioeconomic and health characteristics, women, youth, individuals with a physical health condition and those who were very or extremely concerned with family stress from confinement were less likely to report excellent or very good mental health.