Misery Index: Alberta ranked Canada's least happy province

If you’ve been feeling a little unhappy lately, you’re not alone.

According to a new Provincial COVID-19 Misery Index from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Alberta is Canada’s most miserable province.

The index considers pandemic-related factors such as slow or poor response from government, lost jobs, and the spread of sickness and death from the virus itself.

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Divided into three main categories, the index captures “disease misery,” “response misery,” and “economic misery” impacts in each province by measuring 11 key metrics.

Metrics include cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population, the number of deaths related to the virus, number of people receiving a vaccination, restrictive public health measures, and changes in unemployment, among others.

“Not surprisingly, the misery from COVID-19 has hit hardest in the provinces that have experienced the highest incidence rates of the virus,” reads the report.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Alberta ranked as the most miserable province in the country, earning a “D” score, while Ontario and Quebec came in second and third for unhappiness, respectively.

British Columbia placed as the fourth most miserable province, with a “C+”.

The Maritime provinces fared the best, and Prince Edward Island was rated least miserable with an “A+” score, followed by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Alberta was hit the hardest in the “economic misery” section, receiving high scores in each of the category’s factors except GDP change. The province did slightly better for “response misery,” with a particularly low misery score in the number of vaccinations per population.

Under the “disease misery” section, Alberta received high misery scores for both cases per 100,000 population and excess mortality.

At a national level, Canada ranked as the fifth most miserable out of 15 countries around the world, while the US came in seventh for unhappiness.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Spain scored the highest in the global rankings, earning the title of the least happy country on the COVID-19 Misery Index.