Canadian Life Satisfaction Declining: StatCan

A recent study from Statistics Canada has revealed trends in life satisfaction among Canadians based on data from the Canadian Social Survey (CSS). The study indicates that life satisfaction has been decreasing since the summer of 2021. In 2024, only 48.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older reported being highly satisfied with their lives, a decline from 54.0% in 2021.

Key findings from the study include:

• Hopefulness about the Future: The percentage of Canadians feeling hopeful about the future dropped from 65.0% in 2021 to 59.7% in 2024.
• Demographic Variations: Younger adults (aged 25 to 34) experienced a significant decline in life satisfaction, with only 36.9% reporting high satisfaction in 2024. In contrast, 61.5% of seniors (aged 65 and older) reported being satisfied, a figure that has remained stable since 2021.
• Racialized Canadians: The proportion of racialized Canadians reporting high life satisfaction fell from 52.7% in 2021 to 40.6% in 2024, a decline significantly greater than that of non-racialized Canadians, who saw a decrease of only 0.8 percentage points per year.
• Financial Difficulties: The study found that 32.8% of Canadians faced financial difficulties in 2024, up from 18.6% in 2021. Those experiencing financial insecurity reported lower life satisfaction levels.