Hair raising: Movember launches 2025 campaign

Key Takeaways:

• Rob Reid’s family experiences with prostate cancer illustrate how personal motivation can inspire advocacy and meaningful action in the workplace, highlighting the life-saving impact of early detection and open conversations.
• With over 85% of Canada’s construction workforce being male, issues such as mental health, suicide, and cancers affecting men are significant challenges that the construction sector is actively addressing through initiatives like the Movember Construction Challenge.
• The campaign emphasizes not just fundraising but normalizing discussions about men’s health in the workplace, encouraging workers to talk openly, seek help, and integrate mental and physical health into overall safety practices.

The Whole Story:

When Rob Reid was a teenager, he watched both of his grandfathers die from prostate cancer. Years later, his own father underwent surgery to remove his prostate before cancer could develop. Those experiences, Reid says, showed him firsthand the life-saving power of early detection.

Now a manager at construction giant Ledcor, Reid has channelled that personal history into advocacy through Movember’s annual Construction Challenge. His team won the inaugural national trophy last year, raising more than $100,000 and helping spark conversations about men’s health across the company.

“My biggest message is this: talk about it,” Reid said. “We need to share more, talk about our health more, and above all, normalize it.”

The month-long campaign, held each November, encourages construction firms to fundraise while also engaging in workplace discussions about mental health, suicide prevention, and cancers that disproportionately affect men. With men making up more than 85 per cent of Canada’s construction workforce, advocates say the industry has a unique responsibility.

The statistics underscore the need: three out of four suicides in Canada are by men, one in eight will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men.

In 2024, the challenge drew more than 100 workplace teams and 1,400 participants, raising nearly $1 million. Ledcor took home the national trophy, while companies such as Twin Lions Contracting stressed the importance of industry leadership.

“As an industry, we know too many colleagues, coworkers and friends who have been affected by mental health struggles,” said Twin Lions president Kevin Hatch. “It’s time for all of us to stand up as leaders in this fight — together.”

Companies can register through Movember.com, take part in health talks and toolbox sessions, and compete head-to-head with peers. Organizers say the aim goes beyond fundraising: to create an industry culture where health — both physical and mental — is openly discussed.