Every headline about “new funding” for youth mental health in Canada hides the truth: the money almost never matches the scale of the crisis. In Edmonton, for example, mental health spending makes up just 6.3% of overall health funding, leaving schools and clinics scrambling while demand keeps surging. Students and young adults wait months, sometimes over a year, for therapy or psychiatric care, during some of the most critical years of their development. These delays are not harmless; they lead to worsening mental health conditions, higher dropout rates, and in some cases, preventable tragedies.

Politicians proudly announce “pilot programs” or a handful of new therapists, yet the reality in classrooms and clinics is the same: too few staff, too many young people in pain. At the same time, community organizations trying to fill the gaps are forced to survive on unstable grants and short-term funding cycles. It’s no wonder so many young adults feel abandoned—navigating a system where getting help requires privilege, persistence, or luck.

This is not just a budget problem; it’s a matter of priorities. If Canada can mobilize billions for infrastructure or tax relief, why can’t we guarantee basic mental health access for the next generation? Young adults deserve more than promises—they deserve a functioning, well-funded system that treats mental health as health, and education as a right, not a line item to be trimmed.