Today, the government announced Canada's new Youth Mental Health Fund, which will help younger Canadians access the mental health care they need, by reducing wait times and providing more care options. This will help build a happier, healthier future for every generation.
Younger Canadians feel like the deck is stacked against them. That is, in part, leading to higher rates of mental health challenges than other generations. And, because many of them are still in school or just starting their careers, they are more likely to struggle with the costs of private mental health care. Through no fault of their own, Gen Z has inherited an expensive housing market, and a rising cost of living-both of which are causing unprecedented anxiety about their future. It is more important than ever that young Canadians get the support they need. Every generation should be able to get the health care they need-and that includes mental health care.
To help younger Canadians access mental health care, Budget 2024 will propose an investment of $500 million for a new Youth Mental Health Fund.
The new Youth Mental Health Fund will help community health organizations provide more care for younger Canadians, and better equip these organizations to refer youth to other mental health services within their networks and partnerships.
It is critical that youth have what they need to build a happy, healthy start in their adulthood. Mental health care is an essential part of ensuring every young Canadian can reach their full potential, and that helps Canada's economy reach its full potential, too.
In addition, the federal government today announced that, since announcing its $200 billion health care plan last year, it has now signed bilateral health care agreements with all thirteen provinces and territories. These thirteen agreements, tailored to the unique needs of Canadians in every part of the country, will begin to deliver $25 billion in new funding to hire more doctors and nurses, reduce wait times and backlogs, improve mental health care, and more.
These investments in health care will help ensure every generation can reach their full potential. Alongside these measures, in next week's budget, the government will continue taking action to build more homes, faster, make life more affordable, and create more good jobs and economic growth to ensure every generation can get ahead.
