Statistics Canada says that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on many aspects of life, such as health, social connections, mobility, employment and incomes. A new life satisfaction study uses data from 2018 and June 2020 to document changes in satisfaction before and during the pandemic.

In 2018, the average life satisfaction of Canadians was about 8 out of 10. By June 2020, average life satisfaction was just under 7. It was the lowest level of life satisfaction observed in Canada over the 2003-to-2020 period for which comparable data are available.

The share of Canadians rating their life satisfaction as 8 or above declined from 72% to 40%, while the share rating their life satisfaction as 6 or below increased from 12% to 40%.

Life satisfaction has declined more among younger than older Canadians during the pandemic. The share of youth aged 15 to 29 rating their life satisfaction as 8 or above declined from 72% in 2018 to 26% in June 2020.
There was little difference in life satisfaction between women and men either prior to or during the COVID-19 pandemic.