Canada's happiest city is located in Ontario – but so is the unhappiest

A new report reveals Ontario is home to the happiest and unhappiest cities in Canada. (Pexels/Scott Webb)

Ontario is home to the happiest and unhappiest cities in Canada, according to a new report.

Point2Homes, an online real estate research portal, measured the level of happiness of Canada’s largest 100 cities by analyzing four “happiness-relevant dimensions” in each: economy and real estate, location and demographics, health and well-being, and community and environment.

“Data shows that, just like in real life, there is no absolute happiness, as none of the largest cities in Canada ranked high in each and every happiness metric that would get them a ‘maximum happiness’ index of 100,” the report notes.

Even though no Canadian city reached a perfect score, the data points to Ontario as having some of the happiest cities in the country with seven out of the top 10 cities located in the province.

Caledon clinches first, with Milton, Halton Hills, Clarington and Burlington rounding out the top five cities with the highest happiness index. Oakville ranked seventh and Aurora in tenth.

Most of these cities ranked highly due to their “fortunate” median after-tax income hovering around $107,000, which is well above the national median at $68,400.

Additionally, 85 per cent of residents in Clarington and Halton Hills and 89 per cent of households in Caledon own their own homes, which the report calls a “homeowners’ haven.”

Even though nearly half of Canada’s largest cities are in Ontario, many are also among the unhappiest, with eight of the top 10 least happy cities located in the province.

Barrie, Belleville, Welland, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, North Bay and London ranked lowest, with London coming in dead last across the country.

Toronto also ranked low for major Canadian cities, coming in at 72nd, largely due to its poor economy and real estate ranking, which factors in metrics like unemployment and poverty rates, and percentage of population spending less than 30 per cent of income on housing.

The report also broke down what the happiest cities are in each province, and these are the top 10 in Ontario:

1. Caledon
2. Milton
3. Halton Hills
4. Clarington
5. Burlington
6. Oakville
7. Aurora
8. Newmarket
9. Vaughan
10. Ajax