Canada’s Quality of Life Framework

Abstract

Canada’s Quality of Life Framework gathers data and evidence to inform priority setting and guide decision-making in various policy areas, including the budgetary process. The Framework comprises five domains –prosperity, health, environment, society and good governance – and two cross-cutting lenses: fairness and inclusion, and sustainability and resilience.

Context

The first iteration of the Quality of Life Framework was introduced in 2021 by the Department of Finance Canada, with the support of several ministries. In December 2021, leadership over the strengthening of the Framework was assigned to the Treasury Board Secretariat. Statistics Canada leads the measurement of the Framework.

This Framework seeks to overcome the limits of traditional measures such as GDP in assessing Canadians’ lived realities, which came to light during the COVID-19 crisis. It draws its inspiration from existing practices in Scotland, New Zealand, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Wales and the OECD.

Description and key outcomes

The Framework comprises 84 indicators across 5 domains: prosperity, health, environment, society and good governance. It also includes two cross-cutting lenses, which are applied across all domains: the fairness and inclusion lens and the sustainability and resilience lens.

The Framework has been incorporated in budgetary analysis since 2021, through annual Gender, Diversity and Quality of Life Statements. The Quality of Life Framework complements existing tools in impact assessment such as the Gender-Based Analysis Plus methodology, to enhance the understanding of the scope and group-specific impacts of government action.

In March 2022, Statistics Canada launched a first version of Canada's Quality of Life Hub, bringing together key economic, social and environmental datasets to support the measurement of Canadians' quality of life. The Hub, which is still under development, includes information on the Quality of Life Framework such as definitions, metadata and data visualisations for each indicator, along with relevant well-being news releases and data products (e.g., an interactive Dashboard tool that allows users to compare outcomes for eight indicators on the Quality of Life Framework by age, gender and geographic area).

Canada is also actively participating in the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) group, a cross-governmental cooperation initiative. Membership of the group currently involves the governments of Iceland, New Zealand, Wales and Finland.

Policy relevance

The Framework enables the federal government to identify future policy priorities and to build on previous actions to improve evidence-based decision-making and budgeting. The intention is that the Framework will evolve over time to capture important issues as they emerge.

Further information

Department of Finance Canada (2023), Budget 2023 Impacts Report, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/report-rapport/gdql-egdqv-02-en.html

Department of Finance Canada (2023), Budget 2023: Statement and Impacts Report on Gender, Diversity, and Quality of Life, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2023/pdf/gdql-egdqv-2023-en.pdf

Department of Finance Canada (2022), Budget 2022 Impacts Report, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2022/report-rapport/gdql-egdqv-02-en.html

Department of Finance Canada (2022), Budget 2022: Statement and Impacts Report on Gender, Diversity, and Quality of Life, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2022/report-rapport/gdql-egdqv-01-en.html

Department of Finance Canada (2021), Measuring What Matters: Towards a Quality of Life Strategy for Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/services/publications/measuring-what-matters-toward-quality-life-strategy-canada.html

Department of Finance Canada (2021), Annex 5: Budget 2021 Impacts Report, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2021/report-rapport/anx5-en.html

Department of Finance Canada (2021), Annex 4: Gender, Diversity, and Quality of Life Statement, https://www.budget.canada.ca/2021/report-rapport/anx4-en.html

Scottish Government, Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) website, https://www.gov.scot/groups/wellbeing-economy-governments-wego/ (accessed October 30 2023)

Statistics Canada (2022), Quality of Life Hub website, https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/index-eng.htm (accessed 27 October 2023)

Statistics Canada (2022), Quality of Life Framework for Canada Infosheet, https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/infosheet-infofiche-eng.htm

Statistics Canada (2022), Fairness and Inclusion Lens website, https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/fairness-inclusion-equite-eng.htm (accessed 27 October 2023)

Statistics Canada (2022), Sustainability and Resilience Lens website, https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/sustainability-resilience-durabilite-eng.htm (accessed 27 October 2023)

Women and Gender Equality Canada (2022), Gender Based Analysis Plus, https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-analysis-plus.html

OECD resources

OECD, How’s Life in your country? Country notes, Canada, https://www.oecd.org/wise/measuring-well-being-and-progress.htm#country-notes

OECD (2023), Economic Policy Making to Pursue Economic Welfare: OECD Report for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, May 2023, Japan, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/economy/G7_Beyond_GDP_Economic_policy_making_to_pursue_economic_welfare_2023.pdf

OECD (2021) “Improving the well-being of Canadians”, in OECD Economic Surveys: Canada 2021, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/eb4f7b75-en