Remembering William (Bill) Wilkerson

12 février 2025

The Ontario Brain Institute honours the legacy the loss of Bill Wilkerson (1942-2025), Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Mental Health International.

A champion of mental health, Mr. Wilkerson was a tireless presenter and persuader, traveling throughout Canada, the US and Europe. He was known for blending his knowledge of business with the scientific and economic issues facing employers and working populations due to depression and other behavioral health disorders.

According to the Globe and Mail national newspaper in 2009, “Mr. Wilkerson is widely credited with moving the conscience of corporate Canada by sparking groundbreaking discussions on mental health among senior executives, scientists and government policymakers in North America and Europe.”

He launched Mental Health International in 2011 with the late Michael Wilson, former federal finance minister and Canadian advocate for mental health. Together, they encouraged other business leaders to become role models for de-stigmatizing addiction and mental health issues at their workplaces, protecting brain capital, which prioritizes brain health as economic asset.

Most recently, in March 2022, OBI partnered with Mr. Wilkerson and Mental Health International on the launch of a new report, Mental Life in Canada.

OBI is now working with several international organizations to ensure that brain health is a central pillar of economic strategy at an upcoming G7 meeting in June 2025.

Learn more about OBI’s call-to-action through a Canadian Science Policy Centre editorial or take a deeper dive with the concept note.