Alberta residents reported the lowest level of life satisfaction among all Canadian provinces. This is according to data from Statistics Canada in the table Life satisfaction by gender and province, compiled based on the Canadian Social Survey.
The survey covers data for the second quarter of 2025. Statistics Canada notes that the tables were updated based on responses collected from April to June 2025. As part of the survey, respondents were asked to rate their overall life on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means “very dissatisfied” and 10 means “very satisfied.” Ratings of 8, 9, or 10 were considered high levels of satisfaction.
Across Canada, 46.1% of the population reported a high level of life satisfaction in the second quarter of 2025. This means that less than half of Canadians rated their lives at 8, 9, or 10 points.
In Alberta, this figure was significantly lower—only 38.1% of respondents reported a high level of life satisfaction. At the same time, 29.1% of the province’s residents rated their lives low, that is, within the range of 0 to 5 points. This is precisely what placed Alberta at the bottom of the ranking among Canadian provinces.
Comparison with other provinces
For comparison, Quebec had the best result among the provinces. There, 57.3% of respondents reported high life satisfaction, while the share of those who gave low ratings was 14.8%. Thus, the difference between Quebec and Alberta in the share of people with high life satisfaction is nearly 20 percentage points.
What Does Life Satisfaction Mean
Statistics Canada defines life satisfaction as a subjective measure of well-being, meaning it reflects not only economic conditions but also how people themselves assess the quality of their lives. Such assessments can be influenced by financial status, employment, health, housing, social connections, a sense of security, and overall confidence in the future.
It is important to note that these data do not mean that all Albertans are dissatisfied with their lives. The focus is specifically on the proportion of people who gave their lives the highest ratings. However, the results show that there are fewer such people in Alberta than in other provinces, and the proportion of those who gave low ratings is notably high.
Thus, new data from Statistics Canada reveal a significant difference in well-being across the provinces. Quebec remains among the leaders in life satisfaction, while Alberta ranks last among Canadian provinces in the proportion of people who rate their lives highly.