Launching of the canadian RHI

New Brunswick:
the Province with the Happiest People!

Quebec, November 29, 2006 The first Canadian Relative Happiness Index indicates that Canadians evaluated their level of happiness as 75.60 on a scale of 100. New Brunswick comes in with the highest RHI at 78.60, followed quite closely by Newfoundland with 78.40.

Provincial Rankings

It is interesting to note that the richer provinces (based on their respective GDPs) do not have the highest RHI values. Consequently, on the basis of the data alone, a society's prosperity would only have a relative impact on the happiness of people, since happiness appears to be rooted in other sources that relate more to attitude towards life and what it offers.

Consequently, wealthy Alberta ranks eighth for RHI, while Ontario comes in fourth.

Relative Happiness Index (RHI) by Province

1) New-Brunswick	78.60
2) Newfoundland	78.40
3) Prince Edouard Island	76,60
4) Ontario	76,10
5) Quebec	75,30
6) British-Columbia	75,10
7) Saskatchewan	75,00
8) Alberta	74,00
9) Manitoba	73,20
10) Nova-Scotia	72,80

The RHI also brings to light that the leading factors affecting happiness are being in good health, immediately followed by maintaining good family relations.

Now that indices have been determined for all Canadian provinces, some surprising and enlightening comparisons can be made. Monitoring and comparing index trends among the different population segments could be interesting and valuable. You can see a chart of provincial rankings at www.relativehappinessindex.com as well as a wealth of information about happiness and the shapes it takes.

Remember that the Relative Happiness Index (RHI) is derived from self-assessments carried out by individual respondents. Never before has an index evaluated the levels of happiness of communities and expressed them in tangible terms that can be compared and monitored over time. The RHI is a useful complementary tool whose innovative and human nature places it on the fringes of the current economic debate.

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Source: Pierre Côté, RHI*

*The RHI is a registered trademark of Côté communication conseil.

Information and interviews:

Simon Poitras, HKDP

(418) 523-3352 #239
Cell: (418) 576-3627
spoitras@hkdp.qc.ca