Over the past few decades, our understanding of child and youth mental wellbeing has evolved significantly. We increasingly recognize that mental health is shaped not only by individual experiences or access to services, but by the conditions that young people grow up in. What’s more, we are seeing a collective desire to move upstream – beyond crisis response – preventing issues before they occur. Communities across Canada are learning, collaborating, and leading the way forward.
That is why we’re convening Changing Landscapes 2026 around a question that is both simple and challenging: What does it take to do upstream well?
This event is an opportunity to take part in a national movement on upstream action for child and youth mental wellbeing and substance use prevention. Together, we’ll consider priority action areas, learn about effective strategies for organizing change, and hear about promising approaches from those working to create healthier environments where young people can thrive.
All session times are in Eastern Time (ET). Pacific (PT) −2 hrs | Mountain (MT) −2 hrs | Central (CT) −1 hr | Atlantic (AT) +1 hr | Newfoundland (NT) +1.5 hrs
Project Gallery
The KDE Hub supports mental health promotion and substance use prevention projects through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund (MHP-IF) and the Youth Substance Use Prevention Program (YSUPP), and through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Mental Health in the Early Years (MHITEY) initiative. These projects are diverse and are led by a mix of universities, community, and non-governmental organizations. Areas of focus include early childhood intervention, school-based programs, land-based learning, food security, youth engagement, Indigenous health, healthy relationships, coping skills and cultural identity.
Learn more about these projects below in the rotating gallery space below or in the Projects section of our website.
