Montrealers Happier Than Torontonians; But Torontonians Generally More Satisfied with Health Care, Job Opportunities and Their City As Good Place to Raise Children -- Survey by York University's Institute for Social Research

TORONTO, July 15, 1999 -- Maybe it's the joie de vivre, the smoked meat, or La Montaigne -- whatever the reason, Montrealers are happier than Torontonians. But Torontonians are generally more satisfied than Montrealers when it comes to health care, job opportunities and feeling that their city is a good place to raise children, according to a survey released this week by York University's Institute for Social Research (ISR).

The Institute initiated an annual quality of life survey in January, 1998 to measure the level of satisfaction with the quality of life in Canadian cities. The survey was originally organized to canvass both Toronto and Montreal in 1998, but the ice storm would have made communication difficult, and would invariably have biased the results, so the first survey was confined to Toronto. It was expanded in 1999 to include a comparison with Montreal. The following are the results of the quality of life survey on happiness, health care, jobs and education (including whether the city is a good place to raise children):

Montrealers are happier than Torontonians

Synopsis: The survey results found that Montrealers are happier than Torontonians. Married people in both cities combined are much happier than single people; individuals in their retirement years, 65 and older, are happier than other age groups; men are slightly happier than women; and individuals not worried about having enough money for essentials were far happier than those who did worry.

Table 1. Happiness of Torontonians and Montrealers

	Happiness Score**
Female	3.49
Male	3.55
25 or younger*	3.69
26 to 45*	3.43
46 to 65*	3.40
65 years or more*	4.02
Not Married*	3.11
Married*	3.78

 

Worried about enough money for essentials*	1.96
Not worried about enough money for essentials*	4.00
Toronto 1998*	3.43
Toronto 1999*	3.33
Montreal 1999*	3.95

NB *Denotes differences which are statistically significant -- which means they are real differences, and cannot be due to chance

Torontonians more satisfied with Health care

Synopsis: The survey results found that Torontonians are more satisfied than Montrealers with their health care system. Torontonians and Montrealers, however, are equally satisfied with their own health and see their doctor with approximately the same frequency.

Table 2. Quality of Health Care in Toronto and Montreal

	Toronto 1998	Toronto 1999	Montreal 1999
Visits to doctor in past two months	0.76	0.76	0.63
Percentage satisfaction with own health	70%	70%	70%
Percentage satisfaction with health care system*	83%	81%	70%

NB *Denotes differences which are statistically significant -- which means they are real differences, and cannot be due to chance

More Torontonians employed full time / very satisfied with job opportunities

Synopsis: The survey results found that fewer Montrealers than Torontonians are employed full-time and Torontonians are slightly more satisfied than Montrealers with the job opportunities in their city. There are, however, no differences in the probability of survey respondents losing their jobs, with the satisfaction they have with their jobs, or in the extent to which their education is related to their jobs.

Table 3. Quality of Jobs in Toronto and Montreal

	Toronto 1998	Toronto 1999	Montreal 1999
Employed full time*	50%	54%	41%
Very likely to lose job	4%	4%	4%
Very satisfied with job	43%	40%	41%
Education closely related to job	40%	40%	50%
Very satisfied with job opportunities in city*	19%	26%	17%

NB *Denotes differences which are statistically significant -- which means they are real differences, and cannot be due to chance

More Torontonians satisfied with their city as good place to raise children

Synopsis: The survey results found that Torontonians are slightly more satisfied than Montrealers with their city as a good place to raise children. More Torontonians than Montrealers have children in schools; their satisfaction with the level of education, however, is more or less the same. In Toronto and Montreal, survey respondents with children in school are more satisfied with the quality of education than those with no children in school.

Table 4. Quality of Education in Toronto and Montreal

	Toronto 1998	Toronto 1999	Montreal 1999
Percentage Children in School*	26%	25%	19%
Percentage satisfaction education	67%	66%	69%
Percentage satisfaction education (with children in school)*	73%	70%	74%
Percentage satisfaction education (no children in school)*	63%	63%	68%
Percentage satisfaction city as good place to raise children*	78%	78%	74%

NB *Denotes differences which are statistically significant -- which means they are real differences, and cannot be due to chance

The survey was conducted between January and February, 1999 through telephone interviews with 400 Torontonians and 400 Montrealers, 18 years of age or older. Survey results for samples of this size are accurate within 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The 1998 survey sampled 827 Torontonians, 18 years of age or older. Survey results for this sample size are accurate within 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

ISR Director Prof. Paul Grayson said the on-going surveys of Torontonians and Montrealers help track the effects of short and long-term social changes -- stemming from such policy decisions as municipal amalgamation, provincial downloading of services and changes in the property tax assessment system -- while monitoring any marked differences between how Torontonians and Montrealers feel about various aspects of life in their cities. He said municipal politicians, city planners, and citizens conscious about the quality of life in their communities should take note of the findings. York University's survey is the first, and currently only, annual survey comparing the quality of life in Canada's two largest cities.

Additional, specific assessments of quality of life will be explored in forthcoming survey results to be released Monday, July 19, 1999. They will include:

Participation in, and evaluation of, political life (How helpful are municipal politicians?)

Evaluation of leisure activities (Are you satisfied with the variety of theatres?)

Evaluation of municipal services (Are you satisfied with snow removal, police service?)

Evaluation of housing (Would you describe your dwelling as a "home"?)

Evaluation of neighbourhoods (Do you feel safe in your neighbourhood?)

Survey results released to date have included:

Evaluation of the overall quality of life (Torontonians and Montrealers are tied at 81% in satisfaction with overall quality of life in their cities)

Founded in 1965, the Institute for Social Research (ISR) is an Organized Research Unit at York University. The Institute's purpose is to undertake, promote and critically evaluate applied social research. The Institute, with over thirty years experience in social science, public opinion and policy research, houses the largest University based survey research unit in Canada.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr. Paul Grayson
Director, Institute for Social Research
York University
(416) 736-5458
email: grayson@yorku.ca

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
email: sinem@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
email: kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/080/99

Please note: For more information in French, please contact: (Pour plus d'information en franÁais, s.v.p. communiquer:)

Susan Stowe
Research Analyst
Institute for Social Research
York University
(416) 736-5061
sstowe@yorku.ca