Welcome back!
The State of Public Health in Canada 2026 report is here — and the findings are a mixed picture of progress and concern. Plus, we’re looking at Canada’s time-change debate, the growing Ebola outbreak, and new menopause guidance.
And on Pulse Check, a closer look at Canada’s growing gambling problem.
Let’s get into it.
Canada’s 2026 health report is in
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer’s latest report takes a closer look at the state of Canada’s health — and the picture is a mixed bag. Canadians are living longer, but spending fewer of those years in good health.
Mental health concerns remain high, toxic drug harms continue, and while overall cancer rates and deaths are declining, some cancers, including colorectal cancer, are becoming more common among younger Canadians.
Meanwhile, rates of sexually transmitted infections are climbing, Canada' s recent measles outbreak has raised concerns about vaccination coverage, and increasingly intense wildfires are creating health risks.
The report highlights where we’re making progress, where we’re falling behind, and what needs attention. Read it here.
Meanwhile, a new poll says long wait times lead half of Canadians to avoid going to the hospital.
The time change is over (for some) 🔒
For many, the clocks fell back an hour on Nov. 1, but not everyone played by the same rules. B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, some parts of Ontario, and the Northwest Territories joined Yukon and Saskatchewan by ditching the twice-yearly time change, opting for daylight saving time year-round.
But sleep experts, such as Rebecca Robillard, say they could be trading one problem for another. Sure, permanent daylight time promises brighter evenings, but it also brings dark winter mornings — and that can throw our biological clocks out of whack.
The good news? Canada’s patchwork of time zones could give researchers a rare chance to study what happens when people live by different clocks. Researchers will be watching — and so will our biological clocks.
A call for Canada’s help in Ebola outbreak
Ebola is spreading fast — and global health officials are asking Canada to step up. The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases and 5,000 deaths, making it the country’s largest-ever.
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director-general Dr. Jean Kaseya is warning that without more international support, the virus could spread to more countries and potentially other continents.
Canada has already committed $8 million to the response and is supporting vaccine research, but health experts say sustained funding and collaboration are urgently needed. At this time, the risk to Canadians remains low.
The menopause conversation continues 🔒
Menopause has been getting a lot of attention recently — and now, some updated medical guidance on how to manage it is adding to the conversation. A leading U.S. OB-GYN group updated its recommendations for the first time in 12 years — highlighting hormone therapy and several nonhormonal treatments for hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disruptions.
This news comes just a couple weeks after a GreenShield report found that four in 10 women don’t know where to seek menopause care. The gap is even wider among racialized women, many of whom say they haven’t discussed their symptoms with a health care professional.
Pulse Check™
Canada’s being dealt a losing hand when it comes to gambling. Here are the facts:
🎰 Canada saw 220 gambling-related suicides in the last decade — but no inquests.
❤️🩹 Young men called mental health lines 2.5 times more after Ontario expanded the online betting market.
🚑 ER visits for gambling disorders doubled in Ontario since the expansion of online gambling.
📺 This advocacy group is pushing to ban all ads for online gambling in Canada.
🎲 Canada is actively looking to create new rules for sports betting ads to reduce online gambling.
That's it for today.
Thanks for reading. Have feedback, story tips, or an issue you'd like us to cover? We'd love to hear from you. Until next week!
Canada Healthwatch
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