Day uses her platform to raise awareness for mental health and support military families

HEDDY SOROUR

We met at a café, neither of us knowing what the other looked like. The striking woman sitting quietly at a corner table—mother of four, birth and postpartum doula, and 17-year Canadian Armed Forces veteran—is unexpectedly petite and deceptively delicate.

But don’t be fooled. Jae M. Day is a powerhouse in a small package.

This week, she’s headed to Montreal to compete in the Mrs. Canada pageant.

“I don’t think of it as a beauty contest,” she says. “It’s about bringing advocacy to the world stage. It gives me a platform to speak about what I want to do and what I am already doing.”

The child of Malaysian immigrants with Polynesian roots, Day grew up in Toronto, joined the Canadian Armed Forces at 16 as a reservist, and juggled three jobs while studying Environmental Engineering at the University of Toronto. After graduating she moved to Nova Scotia and began full-time work with Base Construction Engineering in logistics.

“She is so passionate about her mission regarding mental health and children,” says Breanna Bedor, founder and executive director of Pivotal Help, and a high school teacher. “She’s compassionate, caring, and a powerful advocate for change.”

Within minutes of meeting Day, it’s clear: she is intelligent, resilient, and fiercely determined to improve lives.

She met her husband while serving in Nova Scotia, together they have four children – two boys and twin girls.

“We wanted to have our children early and close together so we could still do things like skydiving and motorcycle riding with them when they’re older,” she laughs.

Defying odds seems to be her trademark. After her second child, Day underwent cervical cancer treatment and was told she’d likely never have more children. She promptly became pregnant—with twins.

“After the twins were born, I decided to become a doula and went back to school for that,” she explains.

Now seven years later, she has attended 65 births, and her clients praise both her professionalism and personal touch.

“Personally, she’s so easy to work with,” says Tina Francis, a new mother of twin boys. “And her experience as a mom—especially of twins— the advice she gives is specifically for twins. She makes me feel confident when she’s with me, and helps me become more confident.”

As an advocate for change, Day has made major strides. During her early years in Nova Scotia, she became acutely aware of mental health gaps in the military.

“In 2014, I took a Mental Health First Aid and Suicide Awareness course with Personnel Support Programs.  That’s when I realized how deep the issues were. I lost nine friends to suicide in one year,” she recalls.

She went on to help run the program afterwards.  Shocked by what she uncovered, she and her husband—also a military serviceman and fellow musician—organized Colour Me Green, an open mic night in Halifax to raise awareness about mental health within the forces while promoting mental health services to support those struggling.

“It was a huge success, and we hosted it again the following year,” Day says. “But I had to miss it—I went into labour with my first child.”

Their son was born with a heart condition and flown to SickKids Hospital in Toronto for life-saving surgery. Day herself suffered complications from the birth. Soon after, the family relocated to Toronto to be closer to care and family support. Their second child was born a year later.

As a new mother in uniform, Day quickly recognized how little support there was for military moms. In true Jae fashion, she set out to change that.

“A mother’s mental health is only as good as the society that takes care of her,” says Day with the conviction that propels her to action.

She successfully championed maternal accommodations such as breastfeeding-friendly uniforms and nursing rooms—not just for Canada, but partnered with other mothers of the Five Eyes nations (Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K.). She also advocated for coverage of midwifery care, breast pumps, and pelvic floor therapy under military health benefits. Since 2021, these accommodations have become standard.

“I also ran a birth and postpartum military moms group,” she adds. “We called it Mothers in Training (MIT). We met weekly for three years. Now, Personnel Support Programs run the prenatal and postpartum programming nationally.”

Today, Day volunteers with Pivotal Help, an organization supporting funding for mental health services for people who can’t afford it or are on long waitlists in Lanark County.

“She’s only been with us two weeks, but I’ve known her for two years and the more I got to know, the more I knew I wanted her to be a volunteer with our organization,” says Bedor.

Meanwhile Day is one of the Ontario leads for Survivors 4 Justice Reform. A PTSD Veteran from Service Related Sexual Trauma herself, she is helping develop a national database that anonymously connects survivors with others harmed by the same perpetrator—a project designed to foster community and safety.

“I also co-lead Operation Warriors Persist, helping women veterans pursue justice after their service through the civil court system,” she says. “I went to Parliament Hill on June 12 to meet with the Ministers of National Defence and Veterans Affairs to advocate for Women Veterans Day.”

She is also on the Board of Directors for Women Who Served Global Magazine, and is being featured on the cover of the Canadian edition in an edition that will also feature seven to 10 Canadian Women Veteran trailblazers like her.  No busy enough Day also leads the Royal Canadian Legion’s Military Sexual Trauma committee where she will be holding support groups for the National Capital Region.

With poise, compassion, and unshakable determination, Jae M. Day is not just competing for a crown next week —she’s carving out lasting change wherever there’s a need.