It must be the rain in Lotus Land. According to a new Statistics Canada survey, if you want to live a longer, happier life, grow up, get old and get out of Canada’s largest cities — especially the Lower Mainland.That’s because StatsCan says young people aged between 15 and 29 living in Metro Vancouver are much less likely to feel satisfied with the quality of their lives than people living in other parts of BC, or Canada for that matter.Respondents living in Vancouver, specifically, were significantly less likely to report ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ mental health than those living in the rest of BC and Canada, and more likely to be lonely..That was followed closely by Toronto, although people in that age bracket tended to be slightly more positive than their Left Coast cousins.“From 2021 to 2023, people living in Toronto and Vancouver were less likely to report a strong sense of belonging to their community when compared with those living in the rest of Ontario or British Columbia,” StatsCan said in its quarterly Canadian Social Survey (CSS).Residents of Toronto (46%) and Vancouver (45.1%) were also less likely to report high life satisfaction than elsewhere in their respective provinces. The provincial averages for residents living in Ontario (48.3%) and BC (48.0%), in turn, were lower than the national average of 51.7% reporting high overall life satisfaction in other parts of the country..One factor cited by StatsCan associated with quality of life is financial strain, owing to the fact that both Vancouver and Toronto have the highest rents of any of Canada’s major cities — and renters, which tend to be less satisfied than home owners.StatsCan noted that shelter costs are the biggest share of almost every household budget in Canada irrespective of province or territory, and Canadians in general have been spending a larger share of their income on these costs: 31.4% in 2021 compared with 29.3% in 2019. .“Younger Canadians tend to face greater challenges than older age groups when it comes to shelter costs. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians aged 15 to 29 rented their home, and they spent more of their income on shelter costs than did Canadians in the older age groups,” the report said.That’s amplified in both Toronto and Vancouver where housing has long been significantly less affordable than the national average. According to the 2021 Census, 20.9% of households in Canada lived in unaffordable housing, and 7.7% were spending over half their income on shelter costs. In both Toronto and Vancouver, that climbed to 30% of households lived in unaffordable housing and 13% of households spent over half their income on shelter costs. .Given that younger people are more likely to rent, and make less money than older Canadians it also stands to reason that those stresses would be proportionately higher.In 2021 and 2022, people living in rental housing report lower quality of life across several dimensions of well-being compared with those living in a home owned by someone in the household, according to the CSS. When compared with homeowners, renters were more than 15% more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs and over 11% less likely to report high overall life satisfaction. Renters were also less likely to report a strong sense of belonging to their community and were more likely to report feelings of loneliness.
It must be the rain in Lotus Land. According to a new Statistics Canada survey, if you want to live a longer, happier life, grow up, get old and get out of Canada’s largest cities — especially the Lower Mainland.That’s because StatsCan says young people aged between 15 and 29 living in Metro Vancouver are much less likely to feel satisfied with the quality of their lives than people living in other parts of BC, or Canada for that matter.Respondents living in Vancouver, specifically, were significantly less likely to report ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ mental health than those living in the rest of BC and Canada, and more likely to be lonely..That was followed closely by Toronto, although people in that age bracket tended to be slightly more positive than their Left Coast cousins.“From 2021 to 2023, people living in Toronto and Vancouver were less likely to report a strong sense of belonging to their community when compared with those living in the rest of Ontario or British Columbia,” StatsCan said in its quarterly Canadian Social Survey (CSS).Residents of Toronto (46%) and Vancouver (45.1%) were also less likely to report high life satisfaction than elsewhere in their respective provinces. The provincial averages for residents living in Ontario (48.3%) and BC (48.0%), in turn, were lower than the national average of 51.7% reporting high overall life satisfaction in other parts of the country..One factor cited by StatsCan associated with quality of life is financial strain, owing to the fact that both Vancouver and Toronto have the highest rents of any of Canada’s major cities — and renters, which tend to be less satisfied than home owners.StatsCan noted that shelter costs are the biggest share of almost every household budget in Canada irrespective of province or territory, and Canadians in general have been spending a larger share of their income on these costs: 31.4% in 2021 compared with 29.3% in 2019. .“Younger Canadians tend to face greater challenges than older age groups when it comes to shelter costs. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians aged 15 to 29 rented their home, and they spent more of their income on shelter costs than did Canadians in the older age groups,” the report said.That’s amplified in both Toronto and Vancouver where housing has long been significantly less affordable than the national average. According to the 2021 Census, 20.9% of households in Canada lived in unaffordable housing, and 7.7% were spending over half their income on shelter costs. In both Toronto and Vancouver, that climbed to 30% of households lived in unaffordable housing and 13% of households spent over half their income on shelter costs. .Given that younger people are more likely to rent, and make less money than older Canadians it also stands to reason that those stresses would be proportionately higher.In 2021 and 2022, people living in rental housing report lower quality of life across several dimensions of well-being compared with those living in a home owned by someone in the household, according to the CSS. When compared with homeowners, renters were more than 15% more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs and over 11% less likely to report high overall life satisfaction. Renters were also less likely to report a strong sense of belonging to their community and were more likely to report feelings of loneliness.
