Why aren't Canadians as happy as they used to be?

At one point in time, Canada was ranked as the 5th happiest country out of 147 countries across the globe. 10 years since that ranking, and Canada has dropped to 18th place...a ranking that's continued on a steady decline since 2020. But why? How do Canadians express happiness? How much of their well-being is shaped by the economy, their friends, their perception of the world around them, or all three? And what can we do if we want to climb back to the top 5 area? Host Pooja Handa speaks with Felix Cheung, Canada Research Chair in Population and Wellbeing, and assistant professor at U of T’s department of psychology, about this year's World Happiness Report to discuss why Canadians seem to have a declining outlook on the overall perception of happiness, and what the future generations can focus on if they're interested in making their way closer to the top of the list. You can read the 2025 World Happiness Report here: https://happiness-report.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/2025/WHR+25.pdf You can read the 2024 Canada Happiness Report here: https://cheung.artsci.utoronto.ca/canadian-happiness-report-2024/ We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us through email at [email protected] or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter.

The Big Story · Pooja Handa