The Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work is proud to present the 2026 Janis Rotman Distinguished Lecture on Mental Wellness: The evolution of boys and men's health in Canada.

The unprecedented recent interest in the health of boys and men in Canada offers great opportunities and some inherent risks. This talk includes empirical retrospectives from the last 25 years of masculinities’ and men’s health research, thoughtfully considering the influence of #MeToo, toxic masculinity and the manosphere, along with structural determinants in gauging how we might all benefit from a boys' and men’s health framework/strategy in Canada. Offered also are applied research findings to guide work with boys and men, and suggestions for how we can build sustainable gender-responsive programs.

Our Featured Speaker: Dr. John Oliffe

Dr. John Oliffe is a Professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Applied Science, a Canada Research Chair in Men’s Health Promotion, and the founder and lead investigator of UBC’s Men’s Health Research program. His research focuses on masculinities as it influences men’s health behaviours and illness management, and its impact on partners, families and overall life quality. Findings drawn from his research offer guidance to clinicians and researchers to advance men’s mental health and suicide prevention.

About The Janis Rotman Distinguished Lecture Series on Mental Wellness

The Janis Rotman Distinguished Lecture Series On Mental Wellness presents an annual keynote address by a leading researcher, practitioner or educator on topics such as innovations in culturally-attuned mental health services, social work’s role in addressing widening mental health disparities, the impact of community-based care, and other contemporary concerns at the intersection of social work and mental health.

We’d like to thank Janis Rotman for her generous support of FIFSW’s Talk It Out Online Counselling Clinic, which inspired the launch of this series.