Oh happy day: where to find Canada’s happiest singles

On March 20th the world celebrated the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness. As part of that jovial day, the UN released its annual World Happiness Report, a study that ranks countries based on the happiness of their citizenry. And, out of 155 nations, Canada came 7th!¹

Canada’s 7^thplace finish in the Happiness Report indicates that it is one of the happiest countries in the world, easily beating the likes of America (14^th) and the UK (19^th) to make it into the top 10. It might not be Canada’s highest-ever placing,² but it’s very happy indeed.

And it made us wonder – what are happiest parts of this oh-so-happy nation?

Canada’s top 10 happiest places

At EliteSingles we love happiness (after all, it’s an essential ingredient in a healthy relationship) and so this study certainly piqued our curiosity – but we wanted to know more. Eager to dig deeper into happiness in Canada we ran our own research to reveal the towns and cities that are home to Canada’s happiest singles.

Based on anonymous user data collated from 45,000 Canadian men and women registered with EliteSingles, we examined how highly respondents ranked themselves when asked how happy they felt. From this we were then able to look at the average result by location, and geographically pinpoint where Canada’s happiest singles reside.

So, if you’re eager to meet someone sunny, here are the top 10 places in Canada where you might be able to find an upbeat partner:

Canada’s 10 happiest cities

1. Orangeville, ON
2. St Thomas, ON
3. Collingwood, ON
4. Leduc, AB
5. Aurora, ON
6. Barrie, ON
7. Oakville, ON
8. White Rock, BC
9. Welland, ON
10. Burlington, ON

You can also see the happiest cities in Canada on this shareable, embeddable map – zoom in to see the details!

Ontarians are overjoyed

After a quick peek at the map, it’s easy to see that, while happy Canadians can be found nationwide, many of the happiness hot-spots are in Ontario – 8 out of the top 10 in fact!

Orange is often touted as one of the happiest colours, so it only seems fitting that Orangeville, ON takes the title of happiest place in Canada – seeing off strong competition from two other Ontario cities (St Thomas and Collingwood) to claim the crown.

The other Ontarian cities in the top 10 include Aurora (5), Barrie (6), Oakville (7), Welland (9), and Burlington (10). Meanwhile there are just two non-Ontarian cities that made the cut, with Leduc, AB coming in 4^th place and White Rock, BC claiming 8^th position.

Happiness can be found all over Canada

Although Ontario dominated the top 10, Canada’s 7^th place finish in the World Happiness Rankings means that, overall, this is a pretty cheerful nation. And indeed, our own study showed that happiness is certainly not confined to Ontario. In fact, when the scores were averaged by province, rather than city, it was Nova Scotia that took top honours:

Canada’s 5 happiest provinces:

1. Nova Scotia
2. Ontario
3. British Columbia
4. Manitoba
5. Alberta

Big city; small town – where to find the happiest singles

One interesting fact about the survey is that no major Canadian city finished in the top 10. Sure, some of the top 10 places are from around the GTA, and Leduc is close to Edmonton, while White Rock is part of Metro Vancouver. Yet, when it comes to sheer happiness, smaller does seem better: the most populous town on the list is Oakville, ON, home to around 190,000 people.

Also interesting is the fact that, despite their size, we’ve seen some the towns in this study in our previous research. For instance, Leduc finished 4^th in our happiest singles study – and when we looked at Canada’s funniest singles, it was number one.

Similarly, this time round Aurora was in 5^th place, and when we found Canada’s most monogamous singles, it took out the top spot. Burlington has also featured twice, revealing itself to be the 10^th happiest and 5^th most monogamous place in the country.

So does this mean that humour and monogamy influence happiness – or is it that happiness is the gateway to monogamy and humour? That’s a question for further study!

What is the World Happiness Report?

The importance of happiness should never be underestimated – after all it’s a basic human need that’s vital to leading a rich and fulfilling life. There are a whole host of different variables that contribute to happiness, so naturally it’s a subject that’s been mulled over by some of the most amazing minds throughout history. Philosophizing aside, having a happy relationship with a partner is a central part of feeling content, and that’s one of the reasons EliteSingles is always so intrigued by The World Happiness Report.

The report in question is a large-scale quantitative survey that assesses the state of global happiness. Released in tandem with the United Nation’s (UN) International Day of Happiness, an event established in 2012 by UN advisor Jayme Illien, the report ranks 155 countries based on their happiness levels.

2017’s edition is the fifth of its kind to be released. One of its main purposes is to inform executive debates the UN has on happiness and well-being. It continues to gain recognition from governments, NGOs and civil societies worldwide as a reliable indicator of happiness. Given that happiness is widely regarded as integral to social progress, the study is increasingly being used by policymakers to design and implement legislation.

EliteSingles editorial March 2017

If you have questions about this study, or if you’re from the press and wish to know more, please get in touch – you can comment below or email us at [email protected]

About the author: Sophie Watson

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