Survey Finds Most People Living in Canada Are Happy

A recent survey of almost 2,500 Canadian adults, which was commissioned by The Globe and Mail and conducted by the Gandalf Group, has found that 67% of the people living in Canada are “very happy” and 68% report being “very satisfied” with their lives.

The national survey examined the overall happiness of people living in Canada and how satisfied they are with particular aspects of their lives (e.g., family, financial, personal, social, work, etc.).

Canadian men and women are almost even in reporting happiness, with 69% of males and 66% of females saying they are very happy.

Individuals who are in a relationship and those with children had higher happiness levels than people who are not in a relationship and Canadians without children. According to the survey, 72% of Canadians who are in a relationship are very happy, compared with 59% who are not in a relationship. It should be noted that 62% of non-parents and 63% of parents with children under 18 years of age reported being very happy, however, parents with children over the age of 18 were the happiest of all (77 percent).

Employment was another factor that seemed to influence happiness levels. For example, the survey discovered that 66% of the respondents who are working in Canada said they are very happy, compared with 54% of those who are not employed, but the happiest Canadian adults are those who are retired, with 78% reporting that they are very happy.

There is a saying that money can’t buy you happiness, however, the survey discovered that Canadians with higher incomes reported higher levels of happiness. For example, 57% of survey respondents with yearly incomes below $50,000 said they were very happy, compared with 65% earning $50,000-$100,000, 71% of those making $100,000-$150,000, and 78% of Canadians with salaries above $150,000 per year.

Older Canadians reported higher levels of happiness than younger adults living in Canada. For example, 78% of Canadians 65 years of age or above said they were very happy, compared with 62% of adults in the 18-34 age range. For Canadians between the ages of 35 and 44, the survey found that 60% reported being very happy, while 61% of individuals in the 45-54 age range and 74% of adults 55-64 said they were very happy.

Where a person is living in Canada is also associated with their happiness level, according to the survey results. For example, the percentage of Canadian adults indicating they are very happy was the highest in the province of Quebec (74 percent), compared with 69% in Ontario, 67% in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 66% in Canada’s Atlantic provinces, 64% in Alberta, and 63% in British Columbia.

Canadian adults living in Quebec not only reported the highest levels of happiness compared with other regions of the country, but also had higher levels of satisfaction with their physical health, amount of sleep they receive, leisure time, relationships, and quality and number of friendships. Some of the theories offered by researchers as to why people living in Quebec tend to be happier and more satisfied than Canadians who live in other parts of the country include: stronger social support, relatively low cost of housing, and a sense of community among the predominantly French-speaking population of Quebec.

Although the percentages vary, this survey found that the majority of people who live in Canada report being very happy, regardless of the demographic, socioeconomic or other factors.

These findings are supported by the results of a separate 2019 survey of 20,300 people from around the globe conducted by US News & World Report, BAV Consulting, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, which ranked Canada as the #1 country for quality of life and the world’s #3 best place to live overall. US News & World Report also named Canada as the #1 best country for immigrants to live in 2018.

Therefore, if you and your family are looking for happiness, you may want to consider relocating to Canada.

To learn more about your options for Canadian immigration, click here!