Military and Veteran Families in Canada Initiative

Canada’s military and Veteran families are diverse, resilient and strong, and they are a source of pride for the country. They engage with – and play important roles in – their workplaces, communities and society as a whole.

Approximately 9 in 10 military families (85%) live in off-base, where they access and rely on the same variety of programs and services as civilians, including child care and eldercare, health and mental health, community recreation and leisure, education and employment. As such, these programs and services are typically delivered by civilian professionals and practitioners, who often have little awareness of their unique experiences, strengths, vulnerabilities and perspectives (“military literacy”).

The Military and Veteran Families in Canada Initiative brings together those who study, serve, support and fund military and Veteran families to build awareness, capacity, competency and community to ensure military families have equitable access to services and programs in their neighbourhoods.

The goals of this initiative are to build…

• Awareness by engaging media partners, analyzing and presenting data, and facilitating important conversations
• Capacity by delivering training and professional development sessions for leaders, managers, front-line professionals, volunteers and professional associations, including:
  • Educators (early childhood through university), high school guidance counsellors, employment and career counsellors
  • Health care and mental health professionals
  • First responders
• Competency by facilitating professional development that would lead to a credential or professional designation
• Community by connecting Canadians and national and international organizations that study and support military families

Canadian Military and Veteran Families Leadership Circle

The Canadian Military and Veteran Families Leadership Circle – a component of the Military and Veteran Families in Canada Initiative – connects leaders from business, community, government, the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs to facilitate and strengthen community services and programs for military and Veteran families in Canada.

The aim of this initiative is to leverage the skills, talents and expertise of key community leaders to ensure the effective development and delivery of services and programs for military and Veteran families, while aligning efforts to avoid duplication of work and combining resources to strengthen collective outcomes. Areas of focus include early childhood/preschool, education, physical and mental health, community and social services, rehabilitation and integration, employment and labour.

Resources

• Symposium to Explore Military and Veteran Family Research (February 2021)
• COVID-19 IMPACTS: Lessons on Well-being Learned from Military Deployments (August 2020)
• Modern Family Finances: Military and Veteran Families in Canada (November 2019)
• Dr. Valerie Wood Receives the 2019 Military and Veteran Family Health Research Award (October 2019)
• Research Recap: Caregiving in Military and Veteran Families (July 2019)
• Early Learning and Child Care Professionals and Practitioners Working with Military and Veteran Families (April 2019)
• A Snapshot of Military and Veteran Families in Canada (November 2018)
• Deborah Norris Receives 2018 Military and Veteran Family Health Research Award (October 2018)
• Innovation to Impact: Translating Military Family Health Research into Practice (October 2018)
• Identifying Military Family Cultural Competencies: Experiences of Military and Veteran Families in Canadian Health Care (September 2018)
• Research Recap: School Experiences of Children in Military Families (May 2018)
• What Does the Term “Military Family” Mean? A Comparison Across Four Countries (March 2018)
• Health Care Experiences of Military Families of Children with Autism (November 2017)
• Dr. Alyson Mahar receives Colonel Russell Mann Military Family Health Research Award (September 2017)
• Helping Kids Who Have Parents Involved in the Military (video) (May 2017)
• School Counsellors Working with Military and Veteran Families (May 2017)
• Family Physicians Working with Military Families (November 2016)
• Dr. Heidi Cramm receives Colonel Russell Mann Military Family Health Research Award (November 2016)
• Work–Family Conflict Among Single Parents in the Canadian Armed Forces (March 2016)
• The Current State of Military Family Research (January 2016)
• Community and Business Leaders Making a Difference for Canadian Military Families (January 2016)
• On the Homefront: Assessing the Well-being of Canada’s Military Families in the New Millennium (November 2013)

Member Organizations

As of December 7, 2020