City’s mental health is in decline
January 19, 2026
The mental health of Toronto residents is getting worse, show the findings of the city’s first mental wellness report card produced by Thrive Toronto, a group of eight organizations – including Family Service Toronto – driving meaningful action to improve the mental health of Torontonians.
In 2022, just 52 per cent of people reported having good mental health, down from 73 per cent in 2015. In addition, 31 per cent reported that their mental health had worsened since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the alarming trends identified in the report card released Jan. 19 indicates fewer people identifying as 2SLGBTQ+ reported good mental health compared to the rest of the population.
“We need to double down on our efforts to build mental health supports from the ground up in community,” said FST Executive Director Chris Brillinger. “We need to increase both the number and range of services and programs available, particularly for those who experience discrimination in accessing current services.”
FST’s David Kelley Services counselling program provides trauma-informed support to help empower 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, couples and families as well as people living with, affected by or concerned about HIV/AIDS.
Other trends identified in the report card include:
- Children and youth were less likely to report good mental health.
- People who reported experiencing discrimination or adverse childhood experiences were less likely to report having good mental health.
The report card also found that while mental health services and supports in the city are meeting the needs of those who can access them, too many residents cannot get access to them. Demand for support services is rapidly rising, with waitlists nearly doubling between 2020/21 and 2022/23 alone.
Many stressors linked to lower mental health were uncovered in the report card:
- Working conditions, financial difficulties and time pressures were among the top reported stressors in Toronto.
- Groups facing greater social and economic challenges were less likely to say they had good mental health.
- 46 per cent of young people reported feeling depressed about the future because of climate change.
“Mental health is one of the most important aspects of life,” said Dr. Kwame McKenzie, CEO of the Wellesley Institute which led the report card’s release for Thrive Toronto. “This first-ever report card offers the baseline information from which future reports will measure success or identify problems.”