Counselling Alberta Reaches Out To Farmers in Distress in an Impactful New Campaign.

A new campaign for Counselling Alberta is shedding light on the increasing struggle facing farming families in Alberta. Isolation, weather uncertainty and volatile commodity prices add to the 24/7 pressure of farming, which has led to a staggering increase in burnout, anxiety, and unfortunately, thoughts of suicide. Strikingly, recent research out of Guelph University shows that today, 1 in 4 farmers feel life isn’t worth living*.

This insight is at the heart of a campaign created by C&B Advertising, Counselling Alberta’s agency, spanning TV, radio, print, and digital. The creative is anchored by a stark video called “Mileage”, which shows a farmer seemingly about to start his day, only to reveal he’s chosen to make it his last day. The rest of the campaign sheds light on the 1 in 4 statistic, while asking farmers to overcome their stoic nature and reach out for confidential, affordable counselling with no waitlist through Counselling Alberta and their team of farm-informed counsellors.

”When even one farmer feels like life isn’t worth living, we need to pay attention. Farmers are incredibly strong and resilient—but that doesn’t mean they should shoulder stress alone. The goal of this campaign is simple: to reach farmers where they are, speak honestly about the toll of stress, and show that help is available—right now, and without barriers.”– Dr. Robbie Babins-Wagner, CEO of Counselling Alberta

Jarrod Banadyga, Creative Director at C&B added, “The easygoing or idyllic version of life on the farm doesn’t always ring true. We know that farmers are under a lot of stress and uncertainty, and their tendency to help others mean they often neglect to seek help themselves. We wanted to show the dangers of this quiet struggle, and illuminate Counselling Alberta as an effective avenue for support.”

The campaign will be running through to the end of May, supported by a media buy focussed on print and digital placements with Glacier Farm Media and Alberta Farmer Express; video with Global TV; and radio via various stations in rural Alberta, ensuring the message reaches a rural Albertan audience.

Counselling Alberta is a new rural-focused division Calgary Counselling Centre. For over 60 years, Calgary Counselling Centre (CCC) has delivered counselling services within Calgary with no waitlist and a sliding fee scale based on clients’ ability to pay. These services have since expanded to all Albertans with the launch of Counselling Alberta. CCC now provides virtual and in-person counselling across the province to help address the growing need for mental health services in the province and improve access, especially in rural areas.

Calgary-based C&B Advertising is one of Western Canada’s most successful independent agencies, based around the positioning of “The Brand Behind a Brand”. Their roster includes Travel Alberta, The Calgary Stampede, Calgary Co-op, Tourism Richmond, UFA, and many others. They continue to balance results driven work with creative accolades on a national and international scale.

Linked here is the video, it is the quickest path to understand the heart of our campaign.

For any additional questions please contact:

Client: Jenna Forbes, Marketing and Communications Associate, Counselling Alberta – jenna.forbes@calgarycounselling.com or 403.691.5949

Agency: Leigh Blakely, Managing Partner, C&B Advertising – leigh@candbadvertising.com or 403.710.1613


* This research was published in 2022 by the University of Guelph, based on a survey in 2021 of over 1000 farmers across Canada.