Canadians are overall less happy this year compared to 2024, according to the latest World Happiness Report.

Canada fell to 18th place in the 2025 edition of the report, dropping three spots from last year. This is the lowest position Canada has been in since the survey's inception in 2005.

“In general, the Western industrial countries are now less happy than they were between 2005 and 2010,” reads the report. Canada, as well as the United States and Switzerland, were ranked among the 15 “largest losers” of the year with the steepest drop.

Canada’s highest rank was in 2015, when it placed fifth. Since then, it’s been on a steady decline.

The report uses six key variables to determine how happy a country is: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption. 

Data provided by around 100,000 people in 140 countries is collected by the Gallup World Poll every year.

Canada's fall down the happiness ladder follows a broader trend, according to a 2024 happiness report by the University of Toronto's Population Well-being Lab. Over the past decade, Canadians' overall satisfaction with life has dropped an average of 0.8 points. While this is particularly apparent for Canadians under 30, there is also a growing decline in happiness for the middle-aged population.

Researchers attribute this to a number of things, including rising housing costs and inflation, worsening mental health, and a health care crisis.

Need a happiness boost? Here's what the experts suggest.

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