Canadians are among the happiest people on Earth, ranking 15th on a list of countries in the latest World Happiness Report.
And the happiest people in Canada are apparently the elderly.
In the report, Canadian seniors ranked as the eighth-happiest bunch of elderly folks throughout the world.
In something of an odd twist, the COVID-19 pandemic has left people feeling more inclined to help out others, perhaps a reflection that everyone was in the same boat during those troubled times.
“Post-COVID increases in benevolence, whether measured as shares of the population, or percentage increases from pre-pandemic levels, are large for all generations, but especially so for the Millennials and Generation Z, who are even more likely than their predecessors to help others in need,” notes the report.
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Prepared in partnership with Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the World Happiness Report’s editorial board, the report’s findings do, however, indicate disturbing trends for young people.
Although people in all age groups are generally unhappier now, young people seem to be bearing the brunt of this general malaise that is creeping in throughout society.
“For the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, happiness has decreased in all age groups, but especially for the young, so much so that the young are now, in 2021 – 2023, the least happy age group,” notes the report.
“This is a big change from 2006 – 2010, when the young were happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those aged 60 and over. For the young, the happiness drop was about three-quarters of a point, and greater for females than males.”
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Young women appear to be the unhappiest of all people in Canada.
“The group including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand shows a quite different pattern than elsewhere. Negative emotions are at all ages more frequent for females than males, especially for those under 30,” notes the report.
But the overall high quality of life in Canada remains among the top reasons why foreign nationals choose to immigrate here.
Immigration To Canada Set A New Record Last Year
Immigration to Canada set a new record last year with 471,550 new permanent residents settling into the country by the end of December, up 7.8 per cent from the 437,595 new permanent residents in 2022, the latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals.
Under the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is planning to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, another 500,000 in 2025 and then hold the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 newcomers.
That’s a total of 1.485 million immigrants to Canada over those three years.
Under a two-tier immigration system, Canada allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residency through the federal Express Entry system’s Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of the 10 Canadian provinces.
