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A survey shows that as Canadians reflect on their past year, they are feeling exhausted and grateful as happiness levels decrease.

The Angus Reid Institute surveyed 1,516 Canadians on factors of finances, happiness and life satisfaction. The results showcased that 2023 was not a good year for most Canadians.

“Two-in-five Canadians say the year was more good than bad for them, with one-third saying it was average, and one-quarter more negative than positive,” read the results of the survey.

An important factor was Canadians’ financial life. While 57% of Canadians consider themselves satisfied with their financial situation, 40% remain dissatisfied and more than half of those with a household income of $50,000 join that 40%.

The Institute then made a Life Satisfaction Index evaluating how satisfied each participant was in a matter of physical health, mental health, relationships with close family and friends, social life, leisure time, personal financial situation,  love life, stress levels and overall quality of life.

Based on these factors, the Institute found that 24% of Canadians are very satisfied with their lives, 25% are satisfied, 28% are dissatisfied and 23% are very dissatisfied. In BC, 20% are very satisfied, 30% are satisfied, 26% are dissatisfied and 25% are very dissatisfied.

Many different factors come in play, one is age: Canadians above the age of 55 are more than twice as likely to be very satisfied than younger Canadians. Finances are, once again, very important in this index.

“Half (48%) of those living in households earning less than $25,000 annually are Very Dissatisfied,” read the survey results.

Being a visible minority also has a huge impact on the results, 64% of those who consider themselves a visible minority are “dissatisfied” or very “dissatisfied” compared to 47% who are not visible minorities who consider themselves “very dissatisfied” or “dissatisfied.”

The Life Satisfaction Index also found that 32% of Canadians are dissatisfied with their mental health, a proportion that goes up to 45% in women between the ages of 18 and 34.

The rate of happiness now stands at 70% who are “very” or “pretty” happy, this represent nearly a ten point drop from the Institute’s last survey on the topic showing that nearly 80% of Canadians were “Very” or “pretty” happy in 2016.

Stress levels also got worse, but one thing that has improved over the past seven years is Canadians’ love lives.

“The proportion satisfied with their stress levels has also dropped five points over this period, though there is one improvement worth noting. There has been a five-point increase in Canadians self-reported satisfaction with their love life, from 64 to 69 per cent,” read the survey results.

The survey culminates in a clear dichotomy of how Canadians would describe their last year. The two most used words to describe 2023 were “grateful” at 37% and “exhausting” also at 37%.

The Angus Reid Institute is a not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation. To see the full results and the methodology behind the survey visit the Angus Reid Institute’s website here.

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