Governments Expanding Mental Health Supports for Farm Workers

Canada and Ontario now offering the Farmer Wellness Initiative to agricultural workers in the province

July 22, 2024
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness

TORONTO – The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $538,000 through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to expand the Farmer Wellness Initiative to Ontario farm workers. Of that total, nearly $178,000 will be dedicated to supporting the delivery of services in Spanish.

Delivered by Agriculture Wellness Ontario, a suite of free programming managed by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division, the Farmer Wellness Initiative provides farmers, farm workers and their family members in Ontario with unlimited access to a free, 24/7 phone line that connects them to tailored mental health counselling. Earlier this year, the line expanded to include farm workers, and now the expansion includes the delivery of mental health services in Spanish to better serve international agricultural workers.

Services offered through the 24/7 phone line include crisis counselling, risk assessments, and face-to-face, phone or video sessions with a counsellor.

“As a farmer myself, I know that farmers and folks working on our farms often work long hours and face unique challenges that can make it difficult to prioritize their mental health,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Through this initiative under Sustainable CAP, mental health resources will be more accessible, providing these hard-working people the tools they need, when they need them most.”

“The expansion of services to farm workers and their families reflects the reality that the entire agricultural community experiences unique stressors that require tailored solutions,” said Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. “By increasing access to mental health services for everyone involved in the business of farming, we are supporting those who work hard to grow our sector and provide food for people across Ontario and throughout the world.”

Today’s action builds on a series of recently launched and expanded free mental health supports for workers in the farming sector. It also supports the priorities of the Ontario government’s Grow Ontario Strategy, which include strengthening the stability of our agri-food supply chain and attracting and growing local agri-food talent.

“Farmers face unique mental health challenges as they work, day in and day out, to provide the resources we all need. They deserve reliable and accessible services to support their well-being,” said Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “The Farmer Wellness Initiative is one more way we are expanding access to care, ensuring farmers, farm workers and their families can better connect to quality care that supports their unique needs, where and when they need it.”

Sustainable CAP is a five-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen the competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs designed and delivered by the provinces and territories.

Quick Facts

• Since its January 2022 launch, the Farmer Wellness Initiative has been supporting 617 farmers and their families.
• In total, the governments of Canada and Ontario have invested $5,306,244 into the initiative.
• With this new funding, farm workers can now access services in Spanish in addition to English and French by calling 1-866-267-6255.
• According to a 2021 study conducted by the University of Guelph, 76 per cent of farmers experience moderate or high stress.
• Supporting and empowering farmers to take care of their mental health was among the priorities set for Sustainable CAP by the federal-provincial-territorial agricultural ministers in The Guelph Statement.
• Sustainable CAP will help enable the goals outlined in Ontario’s Grow Ontario Strategy, which includes increasing total agri-food sector employment by 10 per cent by 2032.