Most people say they are happy overall but young Canadians are particularly stressed.
While different areas of our lives will make feel better or worse at different times, overall happiness brings together several major themes including relationships, work, and finances. So how are Canadians doing?
Overall, sentiment is good according to a new survey from Angus Reid Institute today (Nov. 12) but there are some key areas, and groups of the population, who report lower levels of happiness and personal finances are a factor in this.
The survey found that 61% of respondents are generally happy with their lives and this is driven by those aged 54 and over, while 36% of all age groups said they are not happy and this percentage has doubled since 2015.
Those who have been in Canada less than two decades are more likely to say they are not happy, but overall, there has been a decline in sentiment for survey components such as overall quality of life (down from 30% in 2015 to 21% in 2024), outlook on life (29% in 2025 to 19% in 2024), and relationship with their family (42% in 2025 to 33% in 2024).
Income plays a significant role in happiness, the survey found. Just 5% of those with household income of $50K or less say they are very happy compared to 13% with $50K-99K and 14% of those with $100K+. Among those who say they are not happy at all, the share among the lowest income band is double that of the top income band (14% vs. 7%) while the ‘not too happy’ cohort is 33% of lower income households compared to 22% of the top band.
Asked about the factors of their lives that they are happy with, personal finance ranks bottom (53%) behind health (69%), love life (72%), and familial relationships (85%) among others.
Young Canadians are more likely to be struggling with their finances and more than half of those aged under 54 are dissatisfied with their money situation compared to one third or less for older people. The highest share of dissatisfied respondents in this regard is women aged 35-54 (61%).
