What is the MHP-IF?

Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund, Public Health Agency of Canada

The Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund (MHP-IF) is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The MHP-IF is a national program that seeks to learn about promising approaches for advancing mental health promotion among young Canadians, with an emphasis on increasing health equity. The program aims to improve mental health for individuals and communities where interventions are delivered, to reduce systemic barriers for population mental health in Canada, and to improve Canadian public mental health policy and practice.

The MHP-IF is a 10-year investment starting in late 2019. The first phase focused on the design, development, delivery and initial testing of project interventions, partnership development, and creating conditions for long-term success, such as broader implementation and scale up. The second phase supports full implementation, adaptation, assessment, scaling and evaluation of the interventions across multiple populations, communities and settings, including the development of vested partnerships and networks.

The funded projects are diverse. They:

  • happen in over 120 sites across 11 provinces and territories
  • engage Indigenous, newcomer, refugee, immigrant, transgender and other diverse groups
  • span infants, early years, school-aged children and youth, and youth in transition years
  • work with and for parents, other caregivers, families, service providers, children and youth, educators
  • address many determinants of mental health, including social support networks and environments, cultural identity, healthy child development, gender identities, social-emotional learning, healthy relationships, coping skills, pro-social behaviours
  • use different approaches, such as trauma-informed, strengths-based, arts-based, land-based, culturally safe, participatory, Indigenous perspectives
  • are led by a mix of universities, community organizations and national organizations and networks

The MHP-IF is managed by a team at the Public Health Agency of Canada. This team administers the Program, including funding agreements with the funded projects and the KDE Hub. For more information about the MHP-IF and to contact the PHAC MHP-IF team, see the Government of Canada website.

Learn more about the MHP-IF projects under the Projects tab.