Men In Canada Are Expected To Live, On Average, Four Years Less Than Women(1)
That’s a hard truth, and it’s not just about genetics. It’s about how we live, how we care for ourselves, and whether we have the tools we need to stay healthy in the first place.
The foundations of our health are built by the small decisions we make every single day. From the foods we choose to eat and the products we put on our skin, to the time we choose to go to sleep. These daily choices either support our health or slowly chip away at it.
June is Men’s Health Month, a great time to raise awareness about preventable health issues and encourage better lifestyle choices. According to Statistics Canada, men are twice as likely to perish from preventable causes than women,(2) with heart disease as the leading cause of death for Canadian men.(3)
Among those in the natural health space, you’ll often hear: it’s easier to prevent illness than it is to reverse it. And it’s true.
Many men across Canada are taking steps to improve their health, whether it’s getting outdoors, joining gyms, improving their nutrition, or using natural health products to manage stress, improve sleep, and reduce inflammation. For millions of Canadian men, natural health products play a crucial role in this preventative approach.
The Problem: Our Access To These Tools Is Under Threat
Health Canada is currently rolling out their new Self-Care Framework and Cost Recovery fee program, which will replace the Natural Health Product Regulations that have been in place since 2004.(4)
These changes include:
- Pharmaceutical-style regulations for the natural health industry.
- New licensing requirements and burdens that could drive manufacturers out of business.
- Significant annual fees that most small and medium-sized companies can’t afford. These fees will fund product licenses, site inspections, increased surveillance, and more.
- Strict limitations on the types of health claims that can be made on product labels or in health food stores.
- Noncompliance fines increased from five thousand per offense to five million per day.
Five million dollar fines were originally designed for pharmaceutical companies with bottomless budgets, not small Canadian businesses making natural health products. A five million dollar per day fine is not punitive, it’s destructive, and will ultimately shut down long-standing Canadian businesses.
Worse still, these changes are being justified under the guise of “safety”, despite the fact that natural health products in Canada were already sufficiently regulated, with existing powers in place to deal with safety concerns.
Natural Health Products Are A Key Part Of Preventative Care
Many online resources promote doctors’ visits and increased screenings as a key component of preventative care, and this is true. However, it’s far from a holistic approach.
For example, below is the Men’s Health Checklist provided by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, an organization that receives funding from the Canadian Government.(5),(6)
It begins with a physical health checklist including:
- Blood tests
- Cancer screenings
- Physical exams
- Self-exams
- Vaccinations
- Urine & stool tests
- Ultrasounds & scans
- STI tests
And then moves into a mental health checklist including:
- Excessive worrying
- Self doubt
- Irritability
- Binge drinking
- Avoidance
- Sleep disruption
- Digestive changes
- Fatigue
What’s largely missing from this checklist? Anything to do with nutrition, supplementation, or exercise. Meanwhile, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and is largely a preventable illness driven by poor diet and lifestyle habits.(7)
In a country where nearly seven million Canadians don’t have access to a family doctor,(8) promoting more screenings and checkups without addressing prevention is ineffective. Does it make sense that the Canadian government is telling men to see their doctor, while simultaneously reducing access to the very tools men are using to stay out of the doctor’s office in the first place?
That’s the hypocrisy: promoting medical screenings during a doctor shortage while restricting the natural health products that help men stay healthy.
Take Action To Protect Men’s Health
If you, or someone you love, has ever taken a natural health product that helped you heal, perform, sleep, or manage stress then we need you to get involved.
Subscribe to our email newsletter and promptly participate in all campaigns. We’ll guide you step-by-step through mailing letters, sending emails, signing petitions, and contacting Members of Parliament.
Subscribe
Already Subscribed? Participate In Our “My Health Campaign” And Share Your Story
Personal stories are a great way to show decision makers why natural health products matter.
If natural health products have improved your life, we invite you to share your story.
Share Your Story
References
- Statistics Canada (2018). Health-adjusted life expectancy in Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2018004/article/54950-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada (2024). Statistical checkup of Canadian men’s health. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/6413-statistical-checkup-canadian-mens-health
- Statistics Canada (2023). Increase in mortality from 2020 to 2021 entirely attributable to deaths among males. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230828/dq230828b-eng.htm
- Government of Canada (2025). Natural health products regulations. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2003-196/
- Government of Canada (2018). Men’s Health Week. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2018/06/mens-health-week.html
- Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (2025). Men’s Health Partners. https://menshealthfoundation.ca/about-us/partners/
- Heart and Stroke Foundation. Risk and Prevention. https://www.heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/risk-and-prevention
- New Democratic Party (2025). Our plan to guarantee a family doctor for every Canadian by 2030. https://www.ndp.ca/doctors-for-everyone
