And the 30th-happiest city in Canada is … Mississauga

It’s one of those measures that leaves the recipient not quite sure what to do with the ranking received.

“Hey, Mississauga, you just got voted among the happiest cities in all of Canada!”

“Really?” replies the Mississauga couple doing Saturday groceries, or the lawyer grabbing a quick, mid-day bite to eat in the downtown core of Canada’s seventh-largest city.

Well, not really. Okay, kind of really. Actually, we’re not sure.

Mississauga hasn’t really been chosen as one of the “happiest, happiest” cities on a list of the 100 Happiest Cities in Canada released yesterday (May 4) by Saskatoon-based real estate company Point2 Homes.

It placed 30th on the list, which was topped by a handful of communities close by Mississauga–Caledon (No. 1), Milton (No. 2), Halton Hills (No. 3), Clarington (somewhere east of Toronto and Oshawa, but not quite as far as Cobourg, No. 4) and Burlington (No. 5).

A couple of places in Quebec took spots No. 6 and 9 while Oakville came in at No. 7, North Vancouver No. 8 and Aurora (yes, that’s in Ontario) placed 10th.

Among a number of other spots deemed happier than Mississauga–the sprawling “suburb” to the west of Toronto can be somewhat grumpy before it has its morning coffee or two–are Newmarket (No. 14), Vaughan (that city north of Toronto, No. 15), Ajax and Whitby (aren’t they the same place? Nos. 17 and 19, respectively), Langley, B.C. (okay, that sounds like a beautiful, happy place, No. 21), Brampton (Brampton? Seriously? No. 22), Delta, B.C. (see Langley reference above, No. 24), Mirabel, Quebec (No. 25), Ottawa (as happy as people can be when it’s minus 15 Celsius in May, No. 26), Quebec City (fine, lots of European-style charm and atmosphere, No. 28) and Pickering (see Brampton reference above, No. 29).

Who wouldn’t be happy taking a summertime stroll around the beautiful waterfront community of Port Credit in Mississauga? 

And then comes the kind-of-happy, maybe cheery, sometimes moody, but always ready for a fight–especially when Hurricane Hazel was at the helm for 35 years–Mississauga.

Perhaps we’re being a bit hard on Mississauga and its mood, or the collective disposition of its residents. After all, 70 towns and cities finished below it on the Top 100 list.

Notable spots considered not as cheery as Mississauga, and some just not at all happy, include St. John’s, Newfoundland (No. 37), Maple Ridge, B.C. (home of Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2020 member Larry Walker, No. 41), Richmond Hill (No. 43), Regina (the CFL’s Roughriders might be a bit likeable, No. 44), Calgary (No. 51), Hamilton (No. 61), Vancouver (No. 67), Toronto (No. 72), Kingston (No. 75), Niagara Falls (No. 83), Montreal (No. 86), St. Catharines (No. 87), Edmonton (No. 88), Windsor (No. 98), North Bay (No. 99) and London (No. 100).

Analysts behind the 100 Happiest Cities in Canada list determined the “happiest cities” by studying 30 happiness-related metrics, including median after-tax income, poverty rate, perceived health and a sense of belonging, as well as practical factors such as commute time, rainfall and air quality.

Caledon emerged as the happiest overall city in Canada, with a happiness index of 67 out of 100.