The state of early mental health and developmental data in Ontario
Knowledge and evidence resources, Early years
Published: May 11, 2026
Early mental health and development (MHD) from birth to age six plays a major role in shaping lifelong health, well-being, relationships, and even economic outcomes. In Canada, there's no standardized system of routine data collection for children under six—meaning we’re missing key insights into early MHD.
To start looking into solutions, we worked with our partners, Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion and Public Health Ontario, to bring together experts from across Ontario for two collaborative meetings. The first session focused on gaps accessing and using early MHD data, and the second focused on brainstorming actionable steps to the challenges identified in the previous meeting.
Read our report based on those two meetings to explore our findings and emerging opportunities.
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