Ken Ross

Retired Assistant Deputy Minister, Government of New Brunswick

Ken Ross is a former Assistant Deputy Minister of Community and Institutional Services for the Department of Health in New Brunswick. His responsibilities included mental health and addiction services, primary health care, chronic disease management, hospital services, extra-mural program, ambulance services, and the New Brunswick Cancer Network.

Prior to this, Ken served as Chair and CEO of the Mental Health Commission of New Brunswick, a Crown Agency mandated to reform mental health in New Brunswick with a focus on community care and services. He was also the past Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in New Brunswick, and a past member of numerous committees on mental health and public health.

Ken has participated as a member of consultation teams on mental health reform in Latvia and Brazil, and  in Hungary has presented strategies to reform mental health policy in Eastern European Countries.

He is a past member of the Services Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada and was a member of a group that assisted Senator Kirby in developing policy to establish the Commission. He has made numerous presentations across Canada on reforming mental health systems and is a recipient of the C.M. Hincks Award from the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition for his contributions to mental health in Canada and New Brunswick.

Ken is a current member of Moncton Community Residences Board, an NGO that provides community residential options for children and adults with mental health and developmental challenges.