Manitoba workers have best mental health in Canada, but it’s on the decline: survey

A new survey shows that Manitoba workers have the highest mental health scores in the country; however, they are significantly down from earlier in the year.

On Monday, Telus Health released the Mental Health Index, which surveyed 3,000 Canadians who are currently employed or were employed within the last six months.

It determined the province had a mental health score of 62.9 as of October, which puts Manitoba workers into the category of ‘strained’ mental health.

Despite Manitoba having the highest mental health score in the country, it has seen a sharp decline since September 2024 when the score was 67.3.

In Canada as a whole, the mental health score is 61.3, down 3.1 points since September and the lowest level since the launch of the Mental Health Index in April 2020.

The study also found that 37 per cent of Canadian workers have a high mental health risk, 44 per cent have a moderate risk and 19 per cent have a low mental health risk. Approximately 30 per cent of those in the high-risk group report diagnosed anxiety or depression, while seven per cent in the moderate group and one per cent in the low-risk group also report these same diagnoses.

For nearly three years in a row, the lowest Mental Health Index sub-scores for Canadians have been anxiety (53.8) and isolation (56.9). Financial risk saw the steepest decline of all sub-scores, dipping from 68.5 in September to 61.7 in October. General psychological health is the strongest sub-score at 70.8.

Data for this report was collected between Oct. 15 and Oct. 28. Participants were selected to be representative of the age, gender, industry and geographic distribution of the country.

The full report can be found online.