Over 2 in 5 (44%) men in Canada will die before their 75th birthday.
In 2023, Canada lost 75,000 boys and men too young – largely from preventable causes. The two leading causes of premature death in men are cancer (malignant neoplasm) and coronary heart disease. Suicide remains the fourth leading cause, as every 3 in 4 suicides are completed by men. These facts only scratch the surface of what is shared in the Real Face of Men’s Health Report – commissioned by the Movember Institute of Men’s Health (Movember Institute) – that details the current state of men’s health in Canada.
More than twenty years of campaigning in men’s health has taught Movember that men, and those around them, care deeply about men’s health, and everyone has a story to tell. There are many inspiring stories of when men are empowered and supported to be well and healthy – socially, culturally, physically and mentally.
But there are also stories of men not knowing their risks and not feeling equipped to act – accounts of men feeling disempowered, excluded, or uncertain about when and how to speak to a healthcare professional or having a poor experience when they do reach out for help. Movember asked Canadian men about their experiences engaging with primary care and found:
- 54 per cent of men reported facing one or more barriers to effective engagement with healthcare providers.
- Only 48 per cent said they felt actively listened to during their first healthcare interaction – a crucial moment for shaping future help-seeking.
- 61 per cent said masculine stereotypes negatively impact how they engage with healthcare. “Tough it out. Don’t complain. Real men don’t cry.” These ideas don’t just harm men’s mental health – they keep men from seeking help when they need it most.
The effects of poor men’s health aren’t felt by only men, they ripple through families, communities and the economy. In 2023, poor men’s health cost Canada an estimated $12.4 billion. That’s more than 3% of the total national health expenditure. To put that in perspective, it’s enough to fully fund more than 12 large Canadian hospitals for an entire year.*
Caregiving can be an incredibly rewarding role, but it also comes with immense emotional, physical, and financial demands. It requires time, energy, and personal sacrifice, leaving caregivers vulnerable to their own health challenges. Movember polled Canadian caregivers and found 66% of people caring for men with mental or physical illness say it’s harming their mental health, and 50% say it’s negatively impacting their finances. For many, this burden is invisible – but relentless.
So, what needs to be done to reverse these trends? Systemic change. There are many strong examples of positive resources and programs active within Canada – like Men’s Sheds – but we need a system in place to effectively scale upward. We need the Canadian Federal Government to commit to investing in a National Men’s Health Strategy that reaches, responds, and retains men in care – a strategy that strengthens mental health literacy, equips healthcare workers with tools to better engage men, advances research, and scales gender-informed programs.
To learn more about Movember’s report and what you can do, visit ca.movember.com.
*This cost was driven by five key conditions that contribute to the most years of life lost in Canadian men (Coronary Heart Disease, Colorectal Cancer, Lung Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Suicide ). This includes both direct healthcare costs (e.g. hospital services, doctor’s appointments, pharmaceuticals) and indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity, tax revenue, unpaid caregiving). A large portion of these costs are considered avoidable because they could be addressed through prevention, early detection, and better engagement of men in care.
