As the year comes to a close, it is often a time for reflection for Canadians.
New data gathered by the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) has found there is a mixed bag of reviews from Canadians in 2023.
Taking into account factors like health, happiness and financial situations, two in five Canadians said the year was more good than bad, with one-third saying it was average and one-quarter saying it was more negative than positive.
When it comes to financial worries specifically, most people (hovering in the mid-40s percentage) said they are in worse shape now than in 2022. Around 40 per cent said they are about the same and 13 per cent said they are in better shape now.
While the majority say they’re satisfied with this aspect of life, two in five say they are not. More than half of those with household incomes lower than $50,000 join the latter group, who hope that 2024 will bring more prosperity.
ARI has created a “Life Satisfaction Index” which gives a score for how people feel about their life situations. The results were extremely varied with “Very Satisfied” (24 per cent), “Satisfied” (25 per cent), “Dissatisfied” (28 per cent) and “Very Dissatisfied” (23 per cent).
Consider that among visible minorities in Canada, 65 per cent are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied overall. Comparatively, for non-visible minorities, this proportion is a much smaller 48 per cent, according to ARI.
When it comes to mental health, one in three said they feel dissatisfied with how they feel currently.
With such a vast array of responses to the survey, the two most chosen words to describe the year for Canadians are grateful and exhausting.
The institute conducted an online survey from Dec. 15-19, 2023 among a representative randomized sample of 1,516 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.
The Angus Reid Institute was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation.