There is cause for celebration in Canada today, as a survey of 16 countries shows Canadians to be leading the back in health, happiness and quality of life. According to the survey, this news should be quite well received, as over 90 percent of working Canadians described themselves as happy, with the figure jumping to 95 percent for retirees.

The survey, conducted last summer by a consortium of polling firms on behalf of AXA insurance group, was designed to explore people’s attitudes about a number of issues related to retirement. The tale told by the responses showed Canada to be one of the nations where people are the most satisfied with their physical and financial state. Working as well as retired Canadians earned high marks in the poll for being "relatively happy with their lot and enjoying a high quality of life overall".

Canadians scored particularly well in categories related to health. Amongst retired Canadians, 44 percent of respondents reported themselves to be “very healthy”, fully double the international average. The report pointed to the quality and accessibility of medical care in Canada, along with healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise.

While working Canadians also fared very high across the board for quality of life, one concern stood out amongst the respondents. Looking forward to their own retirement, Canadians between the ages of 35 and 55 reported a concern that the lack of growth in the workforce is going to make it more difficult to keep up the high quality of life. To overcome low natural population growth, Canada has been making efforts to attract increased immigration to fulfill the country’s human resource needs.