Great Expectations or Bleak House? Most Canadians are happy, but life outlooks have worsened over past decade

Younger Canadians show elevated stress levels compared to a decade ago


November 12, 2024 – Is it the best, or the worst of times for Canadians? In answering this weighty question, one may look to Dickens, and data.

In the Hard Times of the post-pandemic period, Canadians have had to contend with inflation, health care challenges, and political polarization within their Mutual Friend and family groups. It’s led to diminished quality of relationships and life outlooks for many.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians telling a Tale of Two Cities when it comes to their happiness and satisfaction levels. For three-in-five (61%), the story is largely one of personal happiness. This group, led by Canadians over the age of 54, are largely happy in their lives. For more than one-in-three (36%) their current emotional state is one described as either “not too happy” (26%) or “not happy at all” (10%). This “not happy” group has doubled in size since 2015.

Another notable datapoint is found when comparing the happiness levels of white and non-white Canadians. Happiness among that latter is 13-points lower (52%) than the former (65%), with those who have been in Canada less two decades most likely to profess unhappiness.

Additionally, positive measures of life satisfaction have fallen. These include the proportion who say they’re very satisfied with their overall quality of life (30% to 21% from 2015 to 2024), their outlook on life (29% to 19%), the number of friends they have (36% to 24%) and their relationship with family (42% to 33%). Some of this may be driven by stress levels, which have risen by 14 points among 18-to-34-year-old men and 19 points among 35-to-54-year-old women.

Despite this, 85 per cent of Canadians say they are at least “satisfied” with their familial relationships, while close to four-in-five are satisfied with the place that they live (81%) and the number of friends they have (77%).

About ARI

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.

INDEX

  • Most Canadians are “happy” with their life
  • But unhappiness is trending up
  • Canadians more satisfied than not with relationships, community
  • Since 2015, Canadians satisfaction with quality of life, relationships declines
  • Young Canadians more stressed than they were a decade ago

Most Canadians are “happy” with their life

Happiness is personal and impermanent. Gauging this phenomenon of the human experience can be challenging, given the myriad factors that may make up one’s subjective view of their happiness state. Finances, stress, relationships; all of these play a role in how a person views their own life. Angus Reid Institute asked Canadians to think about their life in general and tell us where they fit on a scale of happiness. A small number occupy the fringes, with one-in-ten saying they’re either “very happy” or “not happy at all”. The groups most likely to be unhappy are men younger than 54, while older Canadians of both genders are much more likely to say they’re feeling great. Approximately half across all age and gender combinations are “pretty happy”, while one-quarter of Canadians are “not too happy” with how things are going:

But unhappiness is trending up

In previous installments of this survey Angus Reid Institute has noted higher levels of happiness. Combining both the “not too happy” and “not happy at all” to create the “unhappy” we can see that this group has been growing over time, and now represents more than one-in-three Canadians (36%):

Notably, there does appear to be a correlation between one’s time in Canada and levels of satisfaction, which also relates to ethnicity. White Canadians and those born in Canada are more likely to say they’re happy overall. Those who have been in Canada for two decades or less are close to twice as likely as others to say they’re not happy at all:

Income plays a significant role in happiness, with those in the lowest income group twice as likely as those in the highest to say that they’re “not happy at all”. Half of this lower income group are happy (50%), while half are not (47%). Seven-in-10 (69%) in the highest income group say they’re happy, more than twice as many as say they are not (29%):

Canadians mostly satisfied with relationships and community

While some of the trends in Canada are negative, with stress rising and relationship quality diminishing, the overall numbers remain a source of hope and optimism. Consider that 85 per cent of Canadians say their relationship with their family is a source of satisfaction. Four-in-five say this of their support system (80%) and the community they live in (77%). The more obvious challenges for Canadians tend to centre around stress and finances, two intermingling variables for which slightly more than half of Canadians voice satisfaction:

Since 2015, Canadians satisfaction with quality of life, relationships declines

There are a number of massive factors that may help to explain a drop in the perceived overall quality of life in Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic was a traumatic and existentially challenging event, the impacts of which will be unfolding for years to come. One of the more immediate impacts of that event was the global economic challenges that emerged. Inflation skyrocketed across the globe and in Canada, has exacerbated already-present housing and affordability challenges for many. The increasing polarization of the past decade too has led Canadians to be less enthusiastic about the relationships they have with friends and family:

Young Canadians more stressed than they were a decade ago

With financial concerns piling up – inflation, grocery costs, housing affordability and others – it is perhaps unsurprising that dissatisfaction with stress levels among Canadians is up. There are, however, a few groups where this is more obviously the case. Young men have joined young women in being among the most stressed group. Nearly three-in-five of each say they’re dissatisfied with their stress level. That said, 35-to 54-year-old women are the group wherein stress has risen most

Notable too are younger men in the fact that they’re now the most dissatisfied with their own outlook on life, up from 26 to 44 per cent across the 10-year period:

METHODOLOGY

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from July 31 – Aug. 2, 2024 among a representative randomized sample of 1,609 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI. Detailed tables are found at the end of this release.

For detailed results by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.

For full release, click here.

For questionnaire, click here.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl

Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 dave.korzinski@angusreid.org

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