Morneau Shepell survey. ‘A pandemic of its own’: How COVID-19 is impacting mental health The index also found the greatest increase in stress month over month was for respondents living in Alberta (61.2), followed by Saskatchewan (60.1) and Manitoba (59.7).“Alberta started out having the lowest mental health score of all the provinces,” explained Morneau Shepell’s Paula Allen.Economic challenges — which negatively affect mental health — put many Albertans in a vulnerable place even before COVID-19, she said.“That uncertainty… the pandemic exacerbated it.”Like many other provinces, Alberta saw lower mental health in the spring, a little bump up in September and then a decline in November as more cases were reported and some regions went.