Vancouver renters less satisfied with life compared to rest of Canada
New data from Statistics Canada has found that Vancouver residents, particularly renters, report a lower quality of life than homeowners and a lower quality of life compared to other places in BC and the country.
While the news may not be surprising to Vancouver renters, who, on average, pay more than anyone else in Canada for shelter, Statistics Canada has additional insights.
The report primarily focused on the national trend of renters reporting a lower quality of life than homeowners, but it provided some specific data for Vancouver.
“Certain populations have reported relatively lower quality of life in the last several years,” reads the report.
The report cites various iterations of the Canadian Social Survey.
From 2021 to 2023, BC had a lower reported life satisfaction overall (48%) than Canada (51.7%). Vancouver was at 45.1%.
“Over the same period, residents of Toronto and the rest of Ontario were likely to report excellent or very good mental health, but respondents living in Vancouver were significantly less likely to report excellent or very good mental health than those living in the rest of British Columbia.”
Residents in Vancouver also reported less hope for the future than residents living elsewhere in BC.
Nationally, indicators like “high life satisfaction” and “high sense of meaning and purpose” decreased near the tail end of 2022, increasing slightly in the second quarter of 2023.
People living in rental housing reported a lower quality of life overall compared to those living in a home owned by someone in the household.
“When compared with homeowners, renters were over 15 percentage points more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs and over 11 percentage points less likely to report high overall life satisfaction,” reads the report.
It added that tenants are less likely to feel like they belong in their community while also reporting a higher tendency to feel lonely.
Younger Canadians are also reporting a lower quality of life than older Canadians.
“In the second quarter of 2023, Canadians aged 15 to 54 reported lower results on several quality of life indicators than those aged 55 or older. They were less likely to report high overall life satisfaction.”
Statistics Canada says shelter costs are to blame.
“According to the 2021 Census of Population, nearly two-thirds of Canadians aged 15 to 29 rented their home, and they spent more of their income on shelter costs than did Canadians in the older age groups.”
Do you echo any of the sentiments in the information from Statistics Canada?
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