I’ve pulled some excerpts from the article:
Experts say cultural expectations around manhood deter men from getting help
Researchers and health advocates say many men delay seeking care, even when symptoms appear — a trend the federal government says it hopes to reverse by developing a strategy focused on improving men’s and boys’ health.
Recent data from Statistics Canada show men are experiencing distinct health challenges, including higher rates of suicide, substance abuse, and premature or preventable death.
“Too often, the message men and boys hear is to tough it out, to stay quiet and to deal with it alone,” Minister of Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez said at the news conference in February.
Health Canada says the strategy, set to be released later this year, aims to foster “supportive and safe environments, challenge harmful stereotypes, reduce stigma, and encourage men of all ages to seek help when they need it.”
A common thread in some of the statistics mirrors Bouchard’s story; waiting for care. About 65 per cent of men waited at least six days before seeking help for symptoms, according to a September 2025 report released by Movember, a men’s health advocacy organization. And nearly one in 10 delay care for more than two years, according to the results.
Timothy Caulfield, a professor in the faculty of law and the school of public health at the University of Alberta, says many of the health challenges facing men are increasingly being linked to messaging from the so-called “manosphere” — an umbrella term used to describe online communities and content its critics say promote misogynistic and harmful views .
“Many of these harms … are closely tethered to the embrace of traditional masculine norms,” said Caulfield. “There is a crisis of health for men, which has been around for a long time, and the manosphere which is exploiting the existence of this crisis, is only making it worse.”
“I think the biggest thing that can be done is normalising the conversation about this,” he said. “That comes from encouraging men to speak to other men.”
Kuhl agrees.
“We…need to understand that men want to talk about [their health issues], but they want to talk about it with people who can use their language … their understanding of what’s going on in their bodies and minds,” said Kuhl.
He says those conversations should also include reframing how masculinity — a word often paired with “toxic” — is seen and understood.
“We can talk about how ‘providing for my family’ means [that] I stay healthy,” said Kuhl. “It means then I take courage rather than fear and say, ‘I’m going to talk to somebody about it,’ and hopefully I’ll find a doctor who understands what it means to talk to a man.”
He adds, emphasizing the positive aspects of masculinity, such as the desire to provide and care for a family, is crucial to that reframing. Kuhl also encourages family doctors to engage boys and men earlier in the health-care system — not just when they’re already in crisis.
Health advocates say addressing men’s health could also have broader public health benefits as well.
Caulfield points to research showing that “individuals who embrace traditional masculine norms are less likely to adopt public health behaviours” such as getting vaccinated.
“[They’re] less likely to do even things like wearing sunscreen or eating healthy because those things aren’t framed as being manly,” said Caulfield. “So it really does have a broad public health component that needs to be addressed.”
He hopes the federal strategy will reinforce the message that being a man includes taking the necessary steps to stay healthy, so men can support and be present for their families.