What is the happiest city in Canada? A recent report just revealed that answer, and according to a lot of number crunching, happiness indexes, and home price averages, it may not be where you think it is.
Happy Canadians?
A report from market researcher Leger has taken a “snapshot of happiness as perceived by Canadian citizens.” Their research was based on a large representative sample, and highlights the numerous factors that play into a person’s happiness. This includes regional, generational, and social dynamics that are shaping our perspectives on well-being in 2025.
On average, Canadians rate their happiness 68.7 out of 100. A passing grade, but not quite flying colours.
Here’s what Leger reported on the finer numbers:
- “49% say their happiness has remained stable
- 28% report a deterioration
- 23% report an improvement in the past year.”
Leger notes that Canadians’ happiness is holding its ground, although there are fractures in it. Its fragility comes from the constant testing due to everyday uncertainty and challenges– but it’s fairly resilient overall.
Happiest City In Canada
The happiness in Canada’s largest cities were calculated with Leger’s Happy Cities 2025 data by Zoocasa. It found that a balance between “emotional satisfaction and financial accessibility” created higher-scoring happiness levels as opposed to cities with an unbalanced market.
At the top of the list is Mississauga, Ontario, with a happiness of 70.3– although this city is effectively paying $13,788 per happiness point as the average home prices in this region are $969, 501. Smaller cities instead offer greater happiness value, such as Winnipeg and Edmonton.
Near the bottom of the list is Vancouver at 8th place with a happiness of 66.3, just a little below the national average. With the highest average home prices and price per happiness point, Vancouver is considered to have “high costs, lower returns.” This also goes for Toronto, which is in last place.
It’s clear to see that affordability actively shapes Canadians’ happiness. Efforts being put into the country’s housing crisis, both federally and provincially, but it remains to be seen if any results come of them. As of now, Vancouver could probably be a bit happier if it wasn’t so expensive to live there.
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