Speakers / Topics: Mental Health
Mental Health Speakers
Sharing their personal journeys and expertise, these mental health speakers help to break the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction—whether it’s asking for help, or helping, their talks make a difference and change lives.
Ben Nemtin
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author | Cofounder of The Buried Life Movement
As the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? and star of MTV’s high rated The Buried Life, Ben Nemtin uses keynote presentations to help empower and motivate groups to make a difference and live courageously. Nemt...
Kellylee Evans
Juno Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter | Motivational Speaker
Internationally acclaimed Juno Award-Winning singer-songwriter Kellylee Evans has been making waves around the world with her energy-charged performances. She shares her inspirational journey of recovery, and showcases the importance of self-care and finding y...
Drew Dudley
Internationally Acclaimed Leadership Speaker | Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Called one of the most inspirational TED speakers in the world, Drew Dudley is on a mission to help people discover the leader within. With more than five million views, his TED talk “Everyday Leadership (The Lollipop Moment)” redefined leadership ...
Serena Ryder
Juno Award-Winning Musician | Mental Health Advocate
For Serena Ryder, music is medicine. Her raw and earnest songwriting, and beautifully electric live performances, have made her a favourite amongst fans, peers, and critics alike. The award-winning singer-songwriter has won six prestigious JUNO Awards, a MuchM...
Chris Koch
Renowned Motivational Speaker
Chris Koch doesn’t let limitations or obstacles stand in his way. Despite being born without arms and legs, Koch grew up like any other small-town kid — playing road hockey, causing mischief at school, and helping out on his family farm. Neither he or his ...
Anthony McLean
Leadership | Mental Health | Inclusivity
With a background in theatre, Anthony McLean delivers lively presentations on mental health, diversity, and inclusion. He has delivered hundreds of inspiring talks across Canada, the US, and Australia, and, as a respected voice in his field, appeared on CBC Ne...
Samra Zafar
Human Rights Activist | Social Entrepreneur | Bestselling Author
After escaping a decade of abuse living as a child bride in a forced marriage in Canada, Samra Zafar became a beacon of hope for many people facing exclusion, abuse, and gender-based violence. Now an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author, sch...
Tanya Talaga
Award-winning Journalist | Author of Seven Fallen Feathers
An award-winning journalist and author, and the First Ojibway woman to deliver the CBC Massey Lectures, Tanya Talaga is an acclaimed storyteller. Her book Seven Fallen Feathers, a national bestseller that introduced us to seven Indigenous high school students ...
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
Expert on Resiliency and Workplace Wellness
Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, and personal wellness in the workplace. Described as transformational, engaging, and thought-provoking, Hanley-Daf...
Swish Goswami
Startup Canada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Swish Goswami has built a multi-hyphenate career at just the age of 23. He is the CEO of Trufan, a social intelligence platform that helps brands of all sizes make smarter marketing decisions. His company, which acquired SocialRank in late 2019, works with cli...
Dr. Lisa Bélanger
Behavioural Change Expert | Researcher
An organization’s greatest asset is its people. Award-winning CEO Dr. Lisa Bélanger shows leaders and teams how insights from psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science can be applied in the workplace to optimize performance, productivity, and innova...
Mark Henick
Mental Health Advocate and Strategist | Top 50 TEDx Speaker
With over six million views, Mark Henick’s TEDx talk, “Why We Choose Suicide,” is among the most watched in the world. His story of searching for “the man in the light brown jacket” who saved his life from a teenage suicide attempt captured g...
Mary Walsh
Comedian | Actress | Mental Health Advocate
Acclaimed comedian Mary Walsh is best known for her multi-Gemini-Award-winning work on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes — CBC’s wildly popular take on current affairs, which she created and which showcases her dynamic range of hilarious characters. Outsi...
Kevin Breel
Mental Health Activist | TED Sensation
Kevin Breel’s TEDx Talk, “Confessions of a Depressed Comic”, has garnered more than four million views, making it one of the most watched TED talks ever on mental health. In the years since he delivered it, Kevin’s been called one of the “most ...
Jamil Jivani
Award-Winning Activist | Lawyer
Jamil Jivani tackles some of the biggest challenges in the world as a lawyer, community organizer, and teacher. With research and teaching appointments at Yale Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School, Jivani focuses on issues that impact youth, immigrants, and ...
Jordan Axani
Mental Wellness and Leadership Expert | Focus of World's Most Viral Human-Interest Story
Jordan Axani has a long track-record of bold acts that move and inspire people. Whether becoming one of the youngest people to bike across Canada, or being at the centre of the most viral human-interest story in the internet’s history (the tale of a Canadian...
Neil Pasricha
Happiness Expert | Bestselling Author of The Book of Awesome
A Harvard MBA, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning blogger, and one of the most popular TED speakers in the world, Neil Pasricha is “a pied piper of happiness” who dazzles audiences with ideas that skyrocket happiness into the stratosphere. ...
Clint Malarchuk
Former NHL Goaltender | Mental Health Advocate
No job in the world of sports is as intimidating, exhilarating, and as stress-ridden as that of an NHL hockey goaltender. Now imagine doing that job while suffering high anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression, and having your career nearly cut s...
Dr. Shimi Kang
Award-Winning Harvard-Trained Physician | Bestselling Author | Global Social Entrepreneur
An award-winning medical doctor, researcher, and expert on the neuroscience of innovation, leadership, and motivation, Dr. Shimi Kang provides science-based solutions for health, happiness, and achievement in the workplace, classroom, and at home. With 20 year...
Steven Page
Iconic Musician
Steven Page is a natural in front of a crowd. Having shot to international fame as the co-founder of The Barenaked Ladies, Page now boasts an impressive solo career, where he continues to showcase his creative genius. A witty, endearing, and searingly honest s...
Dr. Greg Wells
Health and Performance Expert | Physiologist | Bestselling Author
In high performance business situations, the human mind and body have to work together for ultimate results. Dr. Greg Wells is a health and high performance expert who, as a scientist and physiologist, has dedicated his career to making the science of human li...
Cheryl Pounder
Gold Medal Champion
It’s always about the journey. That’s the message women’s hockey champion Cheryl Pounder seeks to instill in every audience she speaks to. Believing that learning from our successes, as well as our failures, is the key to staying on the path toward e...
Sheldon Kennedy
Former NHL Player | Author of Why I Didn't Say Anything
Sheldon Kennedy skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career, but he is likely best known for his courageous decision to charge his Major Junior Hockey League coach with sexual assault for the abuse he suffered while a teenager under his care. Since the...
Dr. Gabor Maté
Expert In Addiction, Health and Wellness | Bestselling Author
Dr. Gabor Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, stress, and childhood development. Rather than offering quick-fix solutions to these complex issues, Dr. Maté weaves together scientific research, case historie...
Elizabeth Manley
Olympic Figure Skater and World Silver Medalist
Boasting more than 30 years in both amateur and professional figure skating, Elizabeth Manley was the first Canadian female to successfully land a triple-double combination jump in competition. She has participated in two Olympic Games (where she won the 1988 ...
Lawrence Hill
Bestselling Author, The Book of Negroes
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winner and bestselling author of The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill speaks as well as he writes. With engrossing, poignant talks on diverse topics such as channeling creative energy, censorship, racial identity, mental health, an...
Stéphane Grenier
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired), Canadian Forces | Mental Health Innovator
In today’s modern workplace, mental health problems have become the leading cause of disability claims, accounting for 70% of workplace disability management costs in Canada. As a former post-traumatic stress disorder sufferer, Lieutenant-Colonel (Retire...
Jennifer Botterill
Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
Jennifer Botterill is one of Canada’s most successful athletes, achieving Olympic glory on numerous occasions. A member of the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team for 14 years, Botterill attended four Olympic games, winning three gold medals and one silver me...
Dr. Susan Biali Haas
Expert in Burnout Prevention, Stress Management and Resilience | Mental Health Advocate
An award-winning medical doctor, Dr. Susan Biali Haas’ life passion is to equip people with the knowledge, skills, and tools to live better lives. Formerly clinically depressed and burned out, Dr. Biali Haas turned her life around by extensively studying how...
Clara Hughes
Six-Time Olympic Medalist | Mental Health Advocate
After spending half her life striving to be the fastest person in the world, six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes decided to switch gears and “slow down to the pace of a human being.” This led her to hike over 16,000 kilometres, where she discovered the ...
Margaret Trudeau
Celebrated Canadian | Mental Health Advocate
Margaret Trudeau is a Canadian icon, celebrated both for her role in the public eye and as a respected mental-health issues advocate. From becoming a prime minister’s wife at a young age, to the loss of both her son and her former husband, to living with bip...
Jessica Holmes
Celebrated Comedian | Author | Mental Health Advocate
Beloved comedian Jessica Holmes has been a perennial favourite on Royal Canadian Air Farce for 15 years, and has brought the house down opening for giants such as Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Peters, Jerry Seinfeld, and Oprah Winfrey. Her hilarious take on life’...