Health minister Michel shares her views on mental health
Marjorie Michel, appointed Minister of Health after the 2025 federal election, made a wonderful impression recently when she spoke to students at John F. Kennedy High School and Adult Education Centre (of the English Montreal School Board), located in her Papineau riding.
Michel is no stranger to politics, despite being elected for the first time. Her political career began in 2016 as a policy adviser to Jean-Yves Duclos, later serving as his chief of staff. In 2019, she became the first Black chief of staff in the Trudeau government, staying on when Duclos became Treasury Board president before moving to the Prime Minister’s Office.
She went on to lead the Liberal Party’s Quebec operations in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections before joining Trudeau’s office in 2021 and later becoming deputy campaign director of the party. Michel is the daughter of former Haitian Prime Minister Smarck Michel, and holds a master’s degree in social work and organizational psychology from Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium.
In her talk with the students, Michel responded to a number of questions related to mental health. Asked whom they should talk to when they have a problem, she said “we need to make sure that everybody is comfortable having someone to talk to about their challenges. This person can be your teacher, parents, friend of parents or whomever. But you need to let people know when you are not feeling well so they can support you through this time. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. This is what I want to say to young people: you need to feel comfort-able to talk about not feeling well. It’s okay because we all experience this. If you don’t deal with or talk about it, this will become bigger and at a point you will collapse.
“Even though we have succeeded in opening the conversation on mental health, asking for help is not always easy, especially when in the height of crisis. The launch of the 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline was an important step in making suicide prevention resources more readily available across Canada. Support is now only three digits away. We must continue acknowledging the importance of mental health care, breaking down stigma, and working towards the care every person deserves. When Canadians are feeling good, our country is stronger.”
The minister emphasized that improving access to mental health services and support systems remains a priority for the government. She also said that for anyone struggling with mental health challenges, they are not alone, and help is available, pointing out the government’s mental health support website.
Info: canada.ca/mental-health
Mike Cohen is manager, Marketing and Communications with the English Montreal School Board. He is an elected city council member for the city of Côte Saint-Luc, a veteran journalist and takes an avid interest in politics. He is also publisher of Inspirations.
