Wellness Together Canada

Transforming Access to Mental Health Care at a National Scale

What would it look like if everyone in Canada could access mental health and substance use health support, at any time, without a referral, appointment, or cost?

Wellness Together Canada (WTC) demonstrated what was possible.

Launched in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WTC was Canada’s first and only national 24/7 bilingual online portal providing mental health and substance use health services and resources. Supported by the Government of Canada, WTC offered immediate, barrier-free access to care for people across the country.

Led by Stepped Care Solutions (SCS), WTC was co-developed in partnership with Homewood Health and Kids Help Phone, bringing together a national collective of service providers within one virtual site. Grounded in SCS’s evidence-based Stepped Care 2.0® (SC2.0) model, the initiative demonstrated how a coordinated, digitally enabled approach could deliver flexible, person-centred care at a national scale.

The platform concluded operations in April 2024, following the wind-down of federal COVID-19 emergency funding. Its insights and impact continue to shape how SCS and its partners co-design scalable, equitable solutions through digital innovation and system-level implementation.

Impact at a Glance

By offering high-quality resources and supports without typical access barriers, WTC made a profound impact on mental health support in Canada. It also eased the strain on overburdened healthcare systems by providing immediate access to services regardless of geographical location and time of day, with an estimated $11 million to $36 million in savings for provincial and territorial health systems.

Stepped Care 2.0 in Practice

At the heart of WTC was the implementation of Stepped Care 2.0®, a model that organizes mental health and substance use health services around people’s needs, preferences, and choices.

Rather than relying on a single pathway into care, WTC offered a range of supports that people could access directly, including learning resources, self-guided tools, peer support, counselling, and crisis services.

This flexible continuum allowed people to choose the type and intensity of support that worked for them, while connecting them with additional services when needed.

Through this approach, WTC demonstrated how a coordinated, digitally enabled model could provide accessible, person-centred care at a national scale.

Easing Pressure on Healthcare Systems

WTC significantly reduced pressure on the broader healthcare system by offering timely, barrier-free care options that helped people manage their wellbeing before a crisis occurred.

It eliminated many traditional barriers to care — no referral, health card, or appointment — and provided culturally responsive, trauma-informed resources for diverse populations, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.

Through community engagement, co-design, and partnerships with governments, subject matter experts, community leaders, and people with lived experience, WTC worked to ensure that services reflected the diverse needs of communities across Canada.

It also played a key role in supporting people affected by public health emergencies and natural disasters, including the 2023 wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories and Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada.

Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

WTC demonstrated what is possible in delivering flexible, population-level mental health and substance use health services across the country. Its success reinforces several critical insights:

Open access to virtual services can address gaps and inequities in care, especially after hours and in underserved communities.

Lower-intensity supports and One-at-a-Time counselling are essential in meeting people where they are.

Creative, responsive, and privacy-conscious approaches are key to delivering care that is both effective and equitable.

Real-time engagement and measurement-based care can be implemented at scale without sacrificing user choice or cultural safety.

WTC offers a valuable blueprint for better access and outcomes. Its lessons can inform efforts already underway, from expanding the use of digital tools and lower-intensity interventions to shaping new approaches for population-level mental health support.

Why It Still Matters

The need for accessible and adaptable mental health and substance use health services has not gone away.

Wait times, access barriers, and growing demand continue to challenge health systems. People still need options for after-hours care, low-barrier supports, and flexible formats that meet them where they are.

No current national service offers the same scope or scale as WTC.

As governments and partners work to build sustainable, inclusive care systems, WTC demonstrates how a coordinated, flexible, and person-centred model can be delivered at scale, providing important direction for future system transformation efforts.