Support for organizations providing mental health services to English-speaking Quebecers

This call for proposals addresses the different situations in regions where English-speaking Quebecers (ESQs) may not have the same access to mental health services in their own language compared to their French-speaking neighbours. In some cases, it may be necessary to consolidate existing English-language services.

While accessibility programs for English-language health and social services do exist, those services are not available consistently in all of Québec’s health care facilities; many are only offered partially or sporadically. This speaks to the need for ESQ community organizations to offer targeted mental health services for different groups (youth, seniors, men, women, non-binary people, people with addictions, etc.), potentially as a complement to existing services where appropriate.

This call for proposals is addressed to non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the mental health field looking to:

• Collaborate with other NPOs that offer mental health services to ESQs in order to develop or maintain services, discuss common issues, and find solutions to address those issues.
• Develop or improve mental health services for English-speaking populations, including the most vulnerable.
• Where appropriate, collaborate with local health and social services institutions such as integrated health and social service centres (CISSS) or integrated university health and social service centres (CIUSSS) or their facilities in order to expand access to mental health care and services for ESQs, for example by sharing best practices for promoting mental health.

Projects must contribute to the following objectives of the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise (SRQEA) Support Program for Organizations Serving the English-Speaking Communities:

1. Increase organizations’, institutions’, and partnership networks’ ability to offer services to Québec’s English-speaking communities.
2. Broaden access to public services for ESQs.

Working with the Community Health and Social Services Network, the SRQEA will support specific activities within proposed projects that will contribute to some or all of the call for proposals objectives.

For this call for proposals, NPOs must:

• Demonstrate that they have developed expertise related to one of the first three objectives, as well as in mental health;
• Describe how they intend to draw directly on the objectives for the project and each of its activities;
• Describe how achieving those objectives will contribute to the fourth and/or fifth objectives.

They must also demonstrate their ability to network with other organizations through concrete activities in which they have participated or contributed over at least the last two years. This could include participating in mental health events or collaborating with other community organizations on a project related to mental health.

Finally, in addition to having NPO status, they must also meet the following seven other criteria for community action:

• Be community-based;
• Be associative and democratic;
• Be free to determine their missions, orientations, approaches, and practices;
• Have been created through a community initiative;
• Pursue a social mission that promotes social change and that is specific to the organization;
• Use active citizenship practices and broad-based approaches rooted in a comprehensive view of the issues at stake;
• Have a board of directors independent from the public network.

NPOs must be able to offer mental health information and support for ESQs, either in person or virtually (online).

Subject to budget availability for each year of the call for proposals, financial assistance will be provided under the following conditions depending on the NPO’s reach (local, regional, or national).

Local

Local municipalities, regional county municipalities (RCMs), territories equivalent to an RCM, and local service networks (one CISSS/CIUSSS)

Maximum amount: $55,000

Regional

Two or more RCMs (or one isolated/remote RCM), regional service networks (two or more CISSS/CIUSSS)

Maximum amount: $70,000

National

All of Québec, or at least two administrative regions

Maximum amount: $120,000

Financial assistance agreements may have a term of up to three years from their effective date, i.e., from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029.

For more information on the call for proposals (including details on evaluation criteria and eligible and ineligible expenses), please contact us for the application guide (Guide de présentation des demandes, available in French only).

Organizations must also fill out an application form, which is available upon request.

Applications must comply with the requirements of the call for proposals. Applicants are responsible for checking compliance.

Completed and signed application forms must be submitted with the accompanying documents by March 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.

The SRQEA will inform organizations of its decision once the assessment and selection process is complete. If the application is accepted, the NPO will need to sign a financial assistance agreement with the SRQEA. Decisions will be announced by April 17, 2026.