Happiness: Waterloo Region ranks #1 in Ontario, and #4 Canada wide

The Waterloo Region is the 4th happiest area to live in Canada wide, and ranks #1 in Ontario.

That is according to research at the University of British Columbia by economics professor John Helliwell, who analysed 100,000 surveys by Statistics Canada.

He found that Kitchener scored 8.2 out of 10, compared to 7.8 by Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa.

Neighborliness is what made a difference: trusting a neighbor is more likely in rural areas than in the big city. The size of Kitchener and Waterloo makes this more likely than in the big metropolitan areas.

The top 10 cities, happiness wise, are:

1. Saint John, N.B

2. Quebec City, Que.

3. Charlottetown, P.E.I.

4. (tie)Kitchener; Moncton, N.B.

6. St. John's, N.L.

7. Saskatoon, SK

8. Regina, SK

9. Winnipeg, MB

10. Halifax N.S.

Read more here:

• The Record: Just call us Happytown, Ontario.
• CBC: Want happiness? Live east, researchers find.