Canada’s mental health system is “disjointed”, volunteer data analysts reveal service gaps

Jan 8, 2026

Author Sharlene Gandhi

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In April 2025, several mental health organizations participated in a national datathon, providing volunteers with access to their program, service and referral data. Today, some of those organizations are beginning to implement tools and analysis methods uncovered during the datathon.

Volunteer data scientists and analysts used data from nine Canadian organizations to reveal geographic and demographic disparities in access to mental health services, referral patterns, and the impact of environmental factors on mental health and wellbeing. 

The three-week National Mental Health Datathon held in April 2025 drew in nearly 600 participants from major cities across Canada. Almost one year later, organizations that provided their data to participants are deepening their commitment to sharing information, improving data quality, and even developing a city-wide Community Information Exchange.  

The Converge Mental Health Coalition, composed of service providers and stakeholders, has committed to bringing together a new Community of Practice. Recently, the organization shared a new Information Sharing Framework to enable data-sharing in the mental health sector. 

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