Quality of Life Hub

Welcome to Canada's Quality of Life Hub. Learn about Canada's Quality of Life Framework, and find the latest releases, data publications, and reference material on subjective and objective measures of wellbeing.

Canada's Quality of Life Framework

The Quality of Life Framework for Canada brings together data for eighty-four indicators, spread across five domains and two central indicators (as shown in the Quality of Life Framework for Canada infosheet).

The framework also includes two cross-cutting lenses, which are applied across all the domains in the framework:

Quality of life identifier
Description - Quality of life identifier

This image illustrates the Quality of Life Framework for Canada. It is represented as a circular graphic with the term "Quality of Life" in a circle at its centre. The circular graphic is divided into five segments which represent each of the five domains of the framework: Prosperity, Health, Society, Environment, and Good Governance. Each domain is represented by an icon: Prosperity domain by an image of a line graph, Health by a heart and heartbeat (electrocardiogram) line, Society by a group of people, Environment by trees, and Good Governance by a courthouse. The two lenses of the framework, Fairness and Inclusion and Sustainability and Resilience, encircle the image, represented by curved arrows.

Features

Interactive dashboards

Domains and key indicators

Consult the latest data on the headline indicators below to gain a snapshot of Canada's quality of life. A or indicates a meaningful difference. Select the domain name to learn more about the indicators within it.

Life satisfaction and sense of meaning and purpose

Key indicators for Life satisfaction and sense of meaning and purpose

Life satisfaction

48.6%

reported high life satisfaction in Q1 2024

+1.0 pts
since Q4 2023
-1.3 pts
compared to 2023 (full year)
Canada ranks 16/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Life Satisfaction)
Source: Table 13-10-0843-01

Sense of meaning and purpose

56.9%

reported high sense of meaning and purpose in Q1 2024

+0.3 pts
since Q4 2023
-0.6 pts
compared to 2023 (full year)
Source: Table 13-10-0845-01

Health

Key indicators for Health

Health-adjusted life expectancy

69.7 yrs

expected alive and in good health in 2015 to 2017

meaningful decrease-0.7 years
since 2010 to 2012
Canada ranks 17/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Health)
Source: Table 13-10-0370-01

Self-rated mental health

47.9%

reported good or excellent mental health in Q1 2024

-0.3 pts
since Q4 2023
-0.2 pts
compared to 2023 (full year)
Canada ranks 1/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Health)
Source: Canadian Social Survey (CSS), Table 45-10-0079-01

Prosperity

Key indicators for Prosperity

Household income

$70,500

median after-tax income for economic families and persons not in an economic family in 2022

meaningful decrease-$2,500
since 2021
Canada ranks 13/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Income)
Source: Table 11-10-0190-01

Youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)

11%

in 2023

0 pts
since 2022
Canada ranks 21/41 of OECD countries (OECD Data - Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET))
Source: Table 37-10-0196-01

Employment rate

61.1%

in June 2024

-0.2 pts
since May 2024
meaningful decrease-1.1 pts
since June 2023
Canada ranks 20/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Jobs)
Source: Table 14-10-0287-02

Poverty

9.9%

in 2022

meaningful increase+2.5 pts
since 2021
Source: Table 11-10-0135-01

Housing Needs

71.0%

lived in acceptable housing in 2021

+1.0 pt
since 2018
Canada ranks 17/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Housing)
Source: Table 46-10-0071-01

Environment

Key indicators for Environment

Drinking water advisories

30

long-term advisories on reserves in effect as of June 2024

meaningful increase+2
since Jan 2024
Source: Ending long-term drinking water advisories, Indigenous Services Canada

Air quality

85%

living in areas within air quality standards in 2019 to 2021

meaningful increase21 pts
since 2018 to 2020
Canada ranks 8/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Environment)
Source: Population exposure to outdoor air pollutants

Greenhouse gas emissions

670 megatonnes

carbon dioxide equivalent emitted in 2021

meaningful increase+11
since 2020
Source: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Climate change adaptation

58.5%

municipal organizations factored climate change adaption into decision-making in 2020

meaningful increase+7.1 pts
since 2018
Source: The Daily - Canada's Core Public Infrastructure Survey: Solid waste and asset management, 2020

Conserved areas

Terrestrial areas

13.6%

conserved at end of 2022

meaningful increase+0.1 pts
since 2021
Marine areas

14.7%

conserved at end of 2022

meaningful increase+0.8 pts
since 2021
Source: Canada's Protected and Conserved Areas Database

Society

Key indicators for Society

Sense of belonging

47.8%

reported strong sense of belonging to their local community in Q1 2024

+1.7 pts
compared to 2023 (full year)
Source: Table 45-10-0052-01

Someone to count on

75.8%

reported always having people they can depend on when in need in Q1 2024

meaningful increase+4.6 pts
compared to 2023 (full year)
Canada ranks 21/41 of OECD countries (OECD Better Life Index - Community)
Source: Table 45-10-0050-01

Time use

Men

73.0%

spent an average of
3.5 hours per day
Women

85.0%

spent an average of
4.4 hours per day

on unpaid work in 2022

Men

meaningful decrease-7.1 pts

meaningful increase+0.4 hours per day
Women

meaningful decrease-4.2 pts

meaningful increase+0.3 hours per day

since 2015

Source: Table 45-10-0014-01, Table 45-10-0104-01

Good governance

Key indicators for Good governance

Personal safety

19.1%

reporting victimization of any kind in 2019

4.3%

reporting violent victimization in 2019

More data coming to measure progress over time

Source: General Social Survey (GSS) - Canadians' Safety (Victimization), 2019

Discrimination and unfair treatment

35.9%

reported discrimination or unfair treatment of any kind in Q1 2024

meaningful increase+1.7 pts
compared to 2022 (full year)
Source: Table 43-10-0061-01

Confidence in institutions

Police

63.2%

Justice

46.4%

School

46.7%

Media

32.6%

Parliament

30.6%

reported high confidence in 2023

Police
-0.3 pts
Justice
meaningful decrease-1.1 pts
School
meaningful decrease-2.3 pts
Media
meaningful increase+1.4 pts
Parliament
meaningful decrease-2.5 pts
since 2022
Source: Table 45-10-0074-01

Related resources

Visit other Statistics Canada subject hubs and portals for related data, analysis and information.

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