New Canadian Index of Wellbeing Coming Out

Report suggests that while the GDP has risen, most Canadians are worse off than before.

A new, comprehensive index of Canadian wellbeing is set to be released this week after more than 12 years of planning. The outlook is not so bright. The Canadian Index of Wellbeing measured 64 factors from eight categories: standard of living, community vitality, democratic engagement, education, health, environment, time, culture and leisure. According to the report, the majority of Canadians are doing relatively poorly in these areas, rising just 11 percent from 1994 to 2008 despite a GDP increase of 31 per cent. The project, started by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, did most of its research at the University of Waterloo. Guess the Canadian Dream is as far away as it’s ever been, ever been.