Three Canadian colleagues in health psychology recount their careers in a field of research and practice whose birth they witnessed and whose developments they have critiqued. By placing the development of health psychology in Canada in a context that is both institutional and personal, Stam, Murray and Lubek raise a series of questions about health psychology and its propagation. While uniquely Canadian on the one hand, their professional careers were affected by international colleagues as well as others – patients and community members – whose views shaped their perspectives. This article is a plea for the continuing development of critical voices in health psychology