Every November, men’s health takes centre stage on faces across the nation. Movember, now in its 19th year, is an annual event that encourages more than just growing moustaches to raise awareness for men’s health issues. As the campaign has grown, it has evolved from a fundraiser for prostate cancer research into a movement aimed at highlighting issues affecting men and boys. Catherine Corriveau, director of policy and advocacy at Movember Canada, joined CTV Your Morning Ottawa to discuss the 2025 Movember campaign, which kicked off Nov. 1. “When we think about men’s health today, in 2025, there are a lot of big questions. I think one of them is what it means to be a man, which has changed a lot since we started as an organization almost two decades ago,” she said. Corriveau says men’s health affects more than just the men themselves. “Whatever the health issue, it has an impact on the men, on their community, on their loved ones, and so we thought we would tackle the whole package,” she said. “Too many men are dying too young in Canada, largely of preventable causes. In 2023, that was 75,000 men who died prematurely, before the age of 75. This has an impact on them, on the economy, on their families, their caregivers and we want to make sure we’re building the systems to adapt to this.” In June, Movember Canada published a report on men’s health in Canada. It highlighted common issues, such as deaths from accidents, opioid toxicity, and suicide, in addition to leading health problems such as cancer and heart disease. “Compared to females; males died prematurely 12 per cent more often from cancers and 135 per cent more often from coronary heart disease,” the report says. It found premature death from accidents was 153 per cent higher for men than women, and that men are three times more likely to die from suicide than women are. “The level at which men are dying… two out of five won’t make it to 75, which is a jarring number,“ Corriveau said. “Suicide is a huge problem for men. It’s the second-leading cause of death of men ages 15 to 44. It’s also really expensive. It costs Canadian taxpayers $12.4 billion in one year. I think there’s a real opportunity here to think of men’s health as an opportunity for change.” How to get involved The best way to get involved is to grow a moustache if you can. “Growing your mo’ is still the best way to get involved,” Corriveau said. “You can grow your moustache, you can move your body, you can donate, you can host a ‘Mo-ment.’ You can start today. We all have a brother, a cousin, a loved one, a father. This is for everyone.” This year, Movember is asking participants, men and women, to run or walk 60 kilometres this month, to mark the 60 men lost to suicide globally every hour. Another option is hosting a “Mo-ment” to gather people together, raise awareness, have a good time, and create connections. Details about how to participate and where to donate are at ca.movember.com.
