Mental Health
on the Prairies

CONFERENCE & CONVERSATION

Building Hope — Renewing Connections

Increasing the use and usefulness of mental health research in the Canadian Prairies.

Learn more, participate, and be part of this engaging gathering.

Spring 2026

Attend.
Present.
Share.
Connect.

Be part of it.

Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Talking openly and having regular conversations about mental health is a critical step in building healthy communities. This spring, we welcome all individuals from across the prairies, and beyond, to come together and join the conversation on building partnerships, strengthening capacity, and supporting the growth of rural mental health across the map.

Hosted by the Centre for Critical Studies of Rural Mental Health (CCSRMH), the Mental Health on the Prairies Hybrid Conference & Community Conversation will be held on April 29th, 30th, and May 1st, at Brandon University. This conference will bring together researchers, health professions, educators, community groups and organizations, mental health advocates, and individuals with lived experience from across the country to share knowledge and have critical conversations about mental health.

The conference includes three keynote presentations designed to explore topics and issues that are meaningful to the whole community.

Rebeccah Love – Toronto-based filmmaker, writer, visual artist and community organizer, will share her experiences and insights with the use of film. She will discuss “Psychosis, Civic Responsibility and the Imagination”.
Russell Purdy - Executive Director of Beccarian Correctional Care in Alberta, will share his perspectives and experiences “From Recovery to Reform: Lived Experience Leading Systemic Change in Addiction and Mental Health”.
Dr. Caroline Tait - internationally recognized Canadian academic, Métis scholar, and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health Equity and Inclusion, will deliver an address entitled: “I’m not from anywhere”: did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action find their way into the Canadian criminal justice system?

In addition to this fantastic agenda of keynote speakers, the Conference has organized and will offer a Citizen’s Forum, a Knowledge Sharing Guest Panel, and a solid variety of mental health focused concurrent sessions arranged over three days, to discuss, learn, connect, create and build ideas, and deepen our collective understanding of both the mental health challenges and potential solutions across rural places and spaces.

The overarching goal of the Mental Health on the Prairies Virtual Conference and Community Conversation is to increase the use and usefulness of mental health research on the Canadian Prairies. To do this, the event has three specific objectives:

1)

To provide a forum for different forms of knowledge sharing between academics, professionals working in health and social care, educators, community groups, and people with lived experience of mental health and addictions;