I find a lot of negativity in the press.
This blog is intended to emphasize only the positive. It will be updated regularly with postings indicative of Canada's relative position in the world. Most recent data will be edited in at the top of the file.
Updated 2014.01.22
CANADA 7th IN GLOBAL TRUST posted 2014.01.22
"Trust in governments has fallen sharply, global survey finds"
"The online survey queried 27,000 people in 27 countries, and broke down results between the general population and a smaller sample of university-educated people. It was conducted last year between Oct. 16 and Nov. 29."
"Ahead of the gathering of political and business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos, the public relations firm Edelman found that only 44 per cent of university-educated people participating in the survey trusted government, down 4 percentage points from the previous year. As recently as 2011, trust in politicians stood at 52 per cent."
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/trust-in-governments-has-fallen-sharply-global-survey-finds-1.1646784
source
For a more comprehensive view and some country by country data here is the original source.
http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/2014-edelman-trust-barometer/trust-around-the-world/
For detail step through the 41 slides and in particular:
Slide 5, Aggregate trust across all countries 2014 compared with 2013.
government [declined from 48% to 44%], business [unchanged at 58%], media [declined from 57% to 52%], NGOS [increased from 63% to 64%]
Slide 6, Aggregate trust index [2013 57% 3014 54%]. Also is listed by country with Canada 2013 rank 8 at 62% and in 2014 rank 7 at 60%.
Slide 16. Trust in companies in terms of where they are headquartered.
Canada ranks 4/27 with 78%, lagging Germany 80%, Sweden 79% Switzerland 79%
It strikes me as strange that a search in Google news on 2014.01.22 for term 'trust in Canadian companies' did not turn up a single related story. Perhaps our financial press does not pick up on favorable news.
Similarly a search for term 'trust level in countries' reveals that the Edelman survey results were picked up by some European media but apparently not by Canadian media.
Canada 6th Place in World Economic Freedom posted 2014.01.19
I found it particularly interesting that I could not find a single report of this in any Canadian Newspaper. I used Google News and searched for
World economic freedom "Canada"
So this from the Wall Street Journal
"America's Dwindling Economic Freedom
Regulation, taxes and debt knock the U.S. out of the world's top 10.
By Terry Miller Jan. 13, 2014 8:05 p.m. ET
"World economic freedom has reached record levels, according to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, released Tuesday by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. But after seven straight years of decline, the U.S. has dropped out of the top 10 …."
"For 20 years, the index has measured a nation's commitment to free enterprise on a scale of 0 to 100 by evaluating 10 categories, including fiscal soundness, government size and property rights. These commitments have powerful effects: Countries achieving higher levels of economic freedom consistently and measurably outperform others in economic growth, long-term prosperity and social progress
"….Hong Kong continues to dominate the list, followed by Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada. These are the only countries to earn the index's "economically free" designation. Mauritius earned top honors among African countries and Chile excelled in Latin America. Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, several Gulf states, led by Bahrain, earned designation as "mostly free."
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303848104579308811265028066?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303848104579308811265028066.html
Original source.
http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking
CANADA: 5TH BEST PLACE TO GROW OLD posted 2013.10.10
Canada ranks in top 5 of world’s best places to grow old
Armina Ligaya | 01/10/13 |
http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/01/sweden-canada-age-watch/
Of particular interest is that in the "health status" component Canada ranked #2
" Sweden topped the list of 91 countries in the Global AgeWatch Index, released Tuesday, followed by Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Canada, thanks to our universal health care system, old age pension program and a relatively long life expectancy, ranked a healthy number 5 on the index compiled by HelpAge International, an advocacy group for older people."
For original source:
http://www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/
COMPETITIVENESS 2013-2014 posted 2013.09.10
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Canada remains 14th most competitive economy in the world
CBC News Posted: Sep 04, 2013 4:15 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 05, 2013 11:27 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-remains-14th-most-competitive-economy-in-the-world-1.1347085
Full report see
http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness
The Global Competitiveness Index 2013-2014 rankings
Switzerland 1
Singapore 2
Finland 3
Germany 4
United States 5
Sweden 6
Hong Kong SAR 7
Netherlands 8
Japan 9
United Kingdom 10
Norway 11
Taiwan, China 12
Qatar 13
Canada 14
Denmark 15
HAPPINESS September 10, 2013 posted 2013.09.15
Canada ranks 6th in global happiness survey
Main factors include social ties, freedom, UN-sponsored report says
CBC News Posted: Sep 9, 2013 12:04 AM ET Last Updated: Sep 9, 2013 2:51
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/09/08/happiness-canada-2013.html
Full report is at:
http://unsdsn.org/files/2013/09/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf
Top 10 happiest countries
1. Denmark
2. Norway
3. Switzerland
4. Netherlands
5. Sweden
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. Austria
9. Iceland
10. Australia
The paper's authors say six factors account for three-quarters of the differences
among residents of surveyed countries:
GDP per capita.
Life expectancy.
Perceived national corruption.
Freedom to make life choices.
Generosity of fellow citizens.
Having someone to rely on in times of trouble.
LIVABLE CITIES August 2013 posted 2013.08.30
- Canada has 3 of the top 5 most livable cities in the world which is to brag a little.
or
- Canada has 3 of the top 10 most livable cities in the world—a bit more modest.
Total "score" of ten cities
Melbourne, Australia 97.5
Vienna, Austria 97.4
Vancouver, Canada 97.3
Toronto, Canada 97.2
Calgary, Canada 96.6
Adelaide, Australia 96.6
Sydney, Australia 96.1
Helsinki, Finland 96.0
Perth, Australia 95.9
Auckland, New Zealand 95.7
Source:
https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=Liveability2013
Better Life per the OEDC May 2013. posted 2013.06.05
Seven reasons to love living in Canada
By Kevin Press, BrighterLife.ca
May 29, 2013
http://brighterlife.ca/2013/05/29/seven-reasons-to-love-living-in-canada/?WT.mc_id=en-ca:digital_adv:paid:Outbrain:BrighterLife:FAMILY:Seven-reasons-to-love-living-in-Canada
"A study published yesterday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Canada performs exceptionally well in measures of well-being, according to an online report. On a range of measures housing, income, health and safety Canada scored among the world's best-performing countries. The study scored 36 nations, including 34 OECD members, Russia and Brazil. No overall ranking is reported.
Full report is at
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/canada/
