KI x CCSA GLE Match – Q&A Format

Leading the way: An inside look at advancing integrated care for mental health and substance use health across the lifespan 

This year at the 2026 Global Leadership Exchange (GLE), international leaders from across sectors and disciplines will come together for the Match Leading the way: Advancing integrated care for mental health and substance use health across the lifespan. 

Co-hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), the Knowledge Institute on Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions (KI) and Ember Korowai Takitini, the Match will explore how leaders can drive high-quality, integrated care for young people and adults experiencing concurrent mental health (MH) and substance use health (SUH) concerns. The conversations and learnings emerging from the Match are expected to help inform approaches to integrated care in Ontario and across Canada, with a focus on strengthening collaboration, systems leadership and person-centred care. 

Ahead of the event, we spoke with two of the Canadian co-hosts of the Match, Dr. Kim Corace, Chief Science and Innovation Officer at CCSA and Dr. Amy Porath, Director of Research and Knowledge Mobilization at KI. They shared what participants can expect, why these conversations matter right now and what they hope attendees take away from the experience. They also highlighted the importance of building sustainability into this work beyond the event itself, with plans to continue engaging Match participants over the next two years by developing an action plan to support ongoing collaboration and impact. 

Q&A with Dr. Kim Corace and Dr. Amy Porath 

Q: What inspired the development of this match at the upcoming GLE 2026?

Dr. Amy Porath: 
When we learned that the Global Leadership Exchange was coming to Canada and being hosted in Ottawa, we thought this would be a valuable opportunity to leverage the expertise of global leaders in the MH and SUH sector to learn from their experiences and innovative practices to support concurrent MH and SUH transformation and integration here at home.

We also saw this as an opportunity to build upon the momentum that has been created through various initiatives that KI and CCSA have been working on to support better integrated care for those with concurrent MH and SUH concerns. For example, the new Levels of Care Quality Standard, and our work in helping to advance integrated care pathways to address the needs of youth with SUH and concurrent concerns. This also aligns with CCSA’s work on advancing integrated concurrent disorders care in Canada which helps address gaps and identify opportunities in research, policy and practice.
 

Q: What can participants expect from the discussion?

Dr. Kim Corace: 
The focus of the two-day Match is on best and promising practices, innovations, models, enabling structures and systems across jurisdiction, as well as lessons learned, to support concurrent MH and SUH transformation and integration. Our goal is to discuss how we can advance integrated care systems and structures for individuals with concurrent MH and SUH concerns and start to develop an action plan that will ensure this work is sustained after the Match. We will start off with some country-specific, context-setting presentations to help set the stage for our discussions on what an integrated system of care looks like. 

We have purposefully built in a lot of time for interactive discussion and strategic exchange in this Match, and so there will be lots of time for participants to share information about their specific work and programs.

On Day 2, we have arranged for a site visit at The Ottawa Hospital’s Mental Health and Substance Use Care Program. This will introduce participants to an integrated model and system of care at one of Canada’s largest academic teaching hospitals. Participants will also hear from leaders about their transformative work and partnerships, lessons learned, and opportunities that lie ahead to address the evolving landscape. We will then spend the remaining portion of the Match discussing how we can continue our work together and start to develop an action plan.
 

Q: Why is integrated care for concurrent mental health and substance use health concerns such an important focus right now?

Dr. Kim Corace: 
There is a strong and well-established relationship between MH and SUH. The prevalence of concurrent disorders has increased over time.

People experiencing SUH concerns have higher rates of MH problems than the general population, and similarly, people experiencing MH concerns are more likely to experience SUH issues. 
Research shows that concurrent concerns are common – in many cases, they are the norm rather than the exception. 30 to 50% of adults with a MH disorder have a co-occurring substance use disorder. Among those with substance use disorders, approximately 50% have a concurrent mood or anxiety disorder (in the past year, nearly 90% in some clinical populations). 

These challenges are particularly significant for women. Women with substance use disorders have a higher prevalence of concurrent disorders than men. 

Despite how common concurrent concerns are, our systems and services are often still designed to treat MH and substance use separately, making it difficult for people to access seamless, integrated care. As such, individuals often fall through the cracks and experience poorer health outcomes. 

Dr. Amy Porath: 
These challenges are particularly significant for young people. Young people aged 15-24 years are more likely to report MH and/or substance use problems than other age groups.

Children and youth experiencing concurrent MH and SUH concerns often face additional barriers to accessing care because services are not consistently integrated. A recent report from the Auditor General of Ontario found that 70% of child and youth mental health agencies reported their services were not meeting the needs of youth with concurrent MH and SUH or behavioural addictions. And nearly half indicated that their clinical staff were not sufficiently trained to support youth with concurrent needs and they did not have integrated care pathways with service providers from the SUH sector. 
While the sector has been discussing the importance of integrated care for many years – through policy papers, best practice guidelines and expert reports (KI policy paper from 2014, CCSA and Homewood Research Institute 2025 Think Tank Summary Report, and the 2002 Best Practices led by Dr. Brian Rush for Health Canada) – this work remains critically important today.

Q: What makes this match unique within the broader GLE experience?

Dr. Kim Corace: 
We have purposely designed this Match so that the presentations, discussions and site visit over the two days will directly inform the development of an action plan aimed at supporting concurrent MH and SUH transformation and integration. 
We plan to build on the momentum created during the Match through the implementation of the action plan into 2028 when the next Global Leadership Exchange is held in Australasia.

Leading the way: Advancing integrated care for mental health and substance use health across the lifespan will take place as part of the 2026 Global Leadership Exchange in Ottawa on June 1-2.