The index suggests the middle class, in particular, is eroding. ”There are some very, very troubling signs,” Romanow said in an interview.

“I think if we continue on this trajectory we’re going to have bigger and bigger disparities. You can never build a solid political, social and economic community with wide disparities.”

The Canadian Index of Wellbeing is meant to be GDP’s alter ego, measuring the quality of life in society in ways gross domestic product does not. The index has been years in the making, pulling together 64 indicators to track progress in areas such as community spirit, education, health, environment, leisure and democratic engagement. While GDP measures what companies and government produce, the wellbeing index measures how Canada and its people are faring. It shows that between 1994 and 2008, wellbeing improved by just 11 per cent. The economy over that period grew by 31 per cent.

So while investment and corporate activity were ticking along at a decent pace, Canadian households saw only minor improvements in their lifestyle. ”The divergence in the (index of wellbeing) and GDP tells us emphatically that we have not been making the right investments in our people and in our communities. And we have not been doing it for a long time,” the report on the index says.

The index’s subcomponents show that quality of life actually deteriorated over that time frame in areas such as the environment, leisure and culture, and time use. Researchers noted that metal reserves are at rock-bottom, species abundance has declined, greenhouse-gas emissions have soared, and ground ozone has risen. When it comes to leisure, Canadians are working out more and taking longer vacations, but they spend less time engaged in arts and culture. Health care saw a slight gain — we’re smoking less and getting our flu shots, but diabetes and depression were on the rise. Wealthier people had better health status.

Living standards rose 26.4 per cent, but at the expense of income inequality. The rich took the lion’s share.

While parents are reading more to their young children and signing them up for all sorts of classes, kids are also spending more time in front of screens. And seniors are seeing less of their families. In other words, a typical household is now working harder and longer to keep on track financially, at the expense of having free time with family and friends, enjoying arts and culture, and volunteering.

“Many Canadians are simply too caught up in a time crunch to enjoy leisure and culture activities in the company of friends and family. The question raised by the results of this domain: Is that progress?” the study asks.

On the positive side, the index also revealed that Canadians feel safer than in the 1990s, and feel a stronger sense of belonging to their community. The “community vitality” index rose 20.7 per cent over the 15 years.

Education has improved, especially with university graduation rates soaring. But our international rating has declined in literacy, math and science.

While Romanow, the former NDP premier of Saskatchewan, is the face of the new index, he says the work put into the index is far from political or ideological. Rather, the data is taken from Statistics Canada and elsewhere, collected and crunched by a wide variety experts in their field. The work is recognized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation as leading edge.

The policy prescriptions, however, point to failures at every level of government over the past couple of decades, Romanow says — adding that he, too, carries some of the blame. ”We all wear some of this.”

Instead of focusing on redistributing wealth and building programs that improve quality of life for Canadians, governments are obsessed with juicing GDP, he said.

The result has been to whittle away at the vibrancy of the middle class, and undermine core Canadian values that encourage individual effort, in part, through redistribution of wealth, Romanow said.

“I think this is a yellow light. A cautionary light,” he added. “We want to be able to make sure that … our societal values are not diminished here.”

Numerous surveys and ongoing research by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. agrees driver courtesy is gradually eroding, said ICBC psychologist John Vavrik.

“People generally feel there’s a lack of courtesy, there’s a lot of anger out there and people are concerned about running into aggressive drivers,” Vavrik said.

Topping the list of bad manners for those polled in the CAA survey are road rage and being cut off in traffic, with 86 per cent of respondents citing those behaviours. Texting or talking on the phone, tailgating, failing to use signals and tossing trash out the window also rank high on the list of irritations.

All behaviours that can be corrected, said Ian Jack, a spokesman for the automobile association.

“They’re all the sorts of things that we were told when we took driving lessons, or did our driving test and first got our license, that we really shouldn’t do,” he said.

The problem has become so pronounced in B.C. that the Crown insurance provider launched an advertising campaign reminding people to indicate they’re thankful for a traffic kindness.

“We’re tying to resurrect the wave,” Vavrik said of the simple tip of the hand that has become increasingly rare on Canadian roadways.

There’s a general tendency to think that everyone in traffic is wound up and lacks courtesy, he said, so ICBC is trying to change that perception.

Jack said the first step to fixing the problem is recognizing that all drivers could be a bit better — even yourself.

“The odds are that if we’re civil to other people, most — not all — but most, will be civil back,” Jack said.

One sticky issue may be getting drivers to admit they, too, could be a better driver.

A recent ICBC survey showed drivers gave their performance on the road a B+ while they graded other drivers around them a C+.

“People have a hard time looking in the mirror and recognizing that they’re part of the problem,” Vavrik said.

It’s not just an issue of bad manners either. Vavrik said hot headed drivers are impaired because they don’t recognize hazards and make poor judgments.

It’s a problem that could lead to injury or even death, Jack said.

“These habits that seem a little bit uncivil are the same ones that could lead you or your loved ones to be killed one day,” he said. “This isn’t a matter of wearing white gloves and extending your pinky as you turn left and turn right, it’s a matter of literally life and death for hundreds of Canadians every year.”

The cost of vehicle accidents to the Canadian economy is in the billions every year, said Michel Bedard, the director of the Centre for Research on Safe Driving at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.

“If we all kind of relax a bit more, slow down a bit more, I think it would change the whole road environment,” Bedard said. “Our philosophy is: most crashes are preventable.”

Peter Christianson, president of Young Drivers of Canada, said his driving school teaches students the courtesy of space, leaving enough space ahead of their vehicle to allow someone in and making sure the driver beside you has space to move over if necessary.

“It’s just thinking about everybody else on the road,” he said. “When you do that, traffic just works naturally and in fact you don’t have to wave because its just the way everybody drives.”

Canadian residents took 1.8 million overnight trips to the United States in April, up 4.5% from March. This advance was in large part attributable to an increase in overnight car travel, which rose 6.4% to 1.1 million trips. Overnight plane travel rose 2.2% from March to 622,000 trips in April.

Travel by Canadian residents to overseas countries reached 766,000 trips in April, up 3.1% from March. In the other direction, the number of trips by overseas residents to Canada was up 0.8% to 1.9 million in April. The number of trips taken by American residents to Canada increased 0.6% in April to 1.6 million. Same-day car travel by American residents to Canada increased 1.5% from March to 556,000 trips. This was the first monthly increase since August 2010.

In addition, overnight car travel rose 2.5% from March to 545,000 trips in April. Overnight plane travel declined 3.6% to 284,000 trips.

The number of trips by overseas residents increased 1.9% to 369,000 in April. The number of trips taken by residents of Japan rebounded 27.3% in April following a 26.7% decline in March. Travel by residents of South Korea increased 15.2% while the number of trips by Mexican residents to Canada declined 14.3%.

The Happiness Monitor canvassed 5,000 Canadians 16 years and older. Respondents were asked about all things “happiness” including social networks, active living, work and the influence of Canadian icons and landscapes in their lives. Results showed more than half of Canadians believe they are happier than the average person. The number-one contributing factor to personal happiness is family or a significant other at 71 per cent.

The Happiness Monitor Highlights

Go Canada Go! Canada’s gold medal win in men’s hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games was the happiest national sporting event for almost half of the country (47 per cent).  The 1972 Canada vs. USSR series was a distant second at 17 per cent.

Natural wonders….

Drawn to the vast landscape of astonishing natural and rugged beauty, close to one third of Canadians (32 per cent) say that the Rockies in Banff, Alberta, make them the happiest.

• The runners up? The dance of the Northern Lights, which light up 26 per cent of the population, and Niagara Falls, a popular tourist destination and source of natural happiness for 15 per cent of the country.
• The rugged Rocky Mountains are a popular source of scenic happiness amongst men and older citizens, while women and younger Canadians were more likely to cite the Northern Lights.
• Third-generation Canadians, also partial to the Northern Lights, were less likely to choose the thundering waters of Niagara Falls as the natural phenomenon that makes them the happiest.
• The Falls scored big points with Canadian parents, who cited this natural wonder most often.

Happiness is a helping hand.

Whether by giving time or money, nearly half of Canadians (49 per cent) say that they feel happy when they support charitable causes, with 14 per cent saying it makes them extremely happy.

• In the spirit of giving, almost six in ten Canadians (59 per cent) currently volunteer with charities or give their time/money to show their support.
• Canada’s top causes include providing more food & nutrition opportunities to disadvantaged children (29 per cent), helping and protecting animals (20 per cent) and protecting the environment (17 per cent).
• Volunteering occurs most often amongst first-generation Canadians, females, and citizens who are older than 25. Self-described as “equally happy as” or “happier than” the average person, these Canadians, who are currently helping others, gave themselves a high score both now and five years down the road.

How happy are Canadians?

Canadians were asked to rank their current “life right now” on a ten-step ladder, with the top rung representing the “best possible life” and the bottom rung representing the “worst possible life”. On average Canadians scored their “life right now” a 6.7 out of 10. When asked to imagine life five years from now, this number jumped to a score of 7.5 out of 10.

Those most likely to put themselves on steps eight, nine and 10 include residents of Quebec, Canadians over 65, married couples, university graduates and those who consider their health to be good or average.

In fact, those more likely to consider themselves happier than the average person are boomers over 65, first-generation Canadians and those earning more than $35,000 a year. However, looking ahead five years, young Canadians are most likely to put themselves on steps eight, nine and 10, suggesting that youthful optimism or a tendency to expect the best (or at least a favourable outcome) is alive and well in our next generation of leaders.

What makes Canadians happy?

It is moments and scenes far away from the “hustle and bustle” of daily social and professional lives that heighten feelings of happiness among Canadians. The top three “happy places” include a camp fire at the cottage or cabin, hanging out at home and reading a book, while lakes, oceans and mountains rank among our favourite scenery.

Family and friends are also key contributors to Canadians’ happiness with nearly all respondents citing family dinners as an activity that brings them happiness. When it comes to friends, slightly less than half of the population say their network consists of less than 10 friends.  Interestingly, those who say they are happier than the average person are more likely to have more friends in their network and as a network of friends decreases, so too does an individual’s score on the “best possible life right now ladder.”

Who is the happiest?

What makes Canadians happy varies from coast to coast, as well as between genders, generations and geographic locations. Their own provinces aside, Canadians generally believe that British Columbia is the happiest province. Comparatively, Quebec residents are one of the happiest groups in the country when measured against the national average.

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Some things have been invented through necessity such as the snow blower. Yes, it comes as no surprise that this much used item was invented right here in Canada by Arthur Sicard of Quebec in 1925. The original was based on a four-wheel drive truck with a snow scooper and blower on the front. By 1927 he had set up a company to manufacture the vehicles and the rest as they say is history.

One of the most commonly used items in existence today is the telephone. Most people know that its invention was credited to Alexander Graham Bell who originated from Scotland. But he was based in Canada, specifically Brantford, Ontario at the time of his invention. The first words to be uttered down the phone were from Bell to his assistant Watson, “Mr. Watson, come here – I want to see you,” in March of 1876. Bell died in Nova Scotia at the age of 75.

Whilst on the subject of communication devices we are all familiar with pagers, walkie-talkies, cordless telephones and  Citizens Band Radio. Well all these things were the idea of one man, Toronto-born Alfred Gross. He actually grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and his inventions were conceived in the USA, but as a born and bred Canadian we still get the credit. Most of his inventions were created during the 1940’s, many as a result of his top secret work during World War II.

Computer geeks amongst you will have heard of the Java programming language. This was invented by Canadian, James Gosling of Calgary, Alberta in 1994 whilst he worked for Sun Microsystems.

The first electric wheelchair was invented by George Klein of Hamilton, Ontario in 1955. It was the first wheelchair that could successfully be used by quadriplegics. Klein is one of Canada’s most prolific inventors, also being accredited with the invention of the microsurgical staple gun and several military products. He was also involved in the space program including the STEM antenna used on the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He was also involved in the creation of the Canadarm.

Diabetics are familiar with insulin, but did you know this was invented in Canada? Dr Frederick Banting from Quebec along with John Macleod, a Scotsman first isolated the hormone, produced in the pancreas in 1922 whilst they worked at the University of Toronto. They both received a Nobel Prize for their work in 1923 and in 1934 Banting was knighted and became a Sir.

Sports are very popular throughout Canada and one particular sport, Basketball, was invented by Canadian born James Naismith in 1891. He wrote all the original rules for the sport which became an official Olympic event in 1936.

Five-pin bowling was also a Canadian invention and is still only played here. It was invented by Thomas F. Ryan of Toronto in 1909. It uses smaller and fewer pins than the original ten-pin bowling and smaller balls.

One of the most popular sports in the country is of course hockey. Although the traditional form of the sport has been played for centuries, ice hockey is generally thought to have started in Nova Scotia by British soldiers stationed there in the mid 1850’s. There is still some debate about this claim. In 1879 students at McGill University in Montreal set formal rules for the game which saw the original rubber ball substituted for the puck.

Something familiar to hockey fans is plexiglass, used to surround the rink to protect the supporters. This product was invented by William Chalmers who was born in Scotland but immigrated to Vancouver, BC when he was young. In 1931 he invented Plexiglass whilst studying at McGill University and owned the patent which he later sold.

We should all be grateful to Thomas Ahearn who invented the electric car heater in 1890. He also invented the electric cooking range in 1882.

The disposable green garbage bag was also a Canadian invention. In 1950 Harry Wasylyk from Winnipeg, Manitoba and Larry Hansen of Lindsey, Ontario came up with the idea for commercial use. The Union Carbide Company purchased the invention and first marketed them in the 1960‘s under the familiar Glad name.

Although Thomas Edison is accredited with the invention of the light bulb, it was in fact originally the invention of Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans, two Canadians in 1874. They sold their patent to Edison who then went on to develop his own design.

There are many other great Canadian inventions such as the Anti-Gravity Suit, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Electron Microscope, Lawn Sprinklers, Odometer, Snow mobile, zipper and the Trivial Pursuit Game to name but a few. No doubt in the coming years we will see many more reasons to be proud Canadians.

When asked about their favourite kissing memory 1 in 2 East Coasters (47 per cent) claimed it was with their current partners.  Only 27 per cent of British Columbians claimed that their favourite kissing memory is with their current partner.

As they age, Canadians tend to feel better about their romantic past.  One in two students (48 per cent) have admitted to regretting a kiss with somebody while only 19 per cent of retirees have regretted a kiss.

• Canadian women are twice as likely to spill the beans about a bad kisser than men.
• Canadians are traditional when it comes to making the first move on a date. Almost half of Canadians (45%) believe that women should not make the first move.
• Albertans are three times more likely to hide the fact that they kissed somebody out of embarrassment than East Coasters.

Albertans (52 per cent) are most likely to confess a clandestine kiss with an ex to their current partner.

• British Columbians and the Atlantic provinces are second in line at 47 per cent.
• Least likely to confess are Manitobans and Saskatchewanians at a mere 34 per cent.
• Ontarians came out at 43 per cent and Quebecois at 40 per cent while the National average is 44 per cent.

One in five East Coast residents have kissed somebody off limits such a friend’s significant other or spouse. Only one in ten Quebecois have done the same.

Inter-office relationships are most prominent in British Columbia where 31 per cent of British Columbians have admitted to kissing a co-worker. In order of rank the following regions have admitted the same:

• Ontario – 28 per cent
• Manitoba/Saskatchewan – 27 per cent
• Quebec – 25 per cent
• Alberta – 19 per cent
• Atlantic Provinces – 17 per cent
• National Average – 1 in 5 (26 per cent)
• British Columbians (30 per cent) are twice as likely to spill the beans about a bad kisser than Ontarians and Albertans (14 per cent).

The stereotype holds true, Canadians are very nice.   When faced with a bad kisser only 7 per cent of Canadians said they would stop the relationship in its tracks while the majority of people said that a kiss does not affect their opinion of potential partners.

In keeping with the “je ne sais quoi” – when faced with a bad kisser the Quebecois are most likely to give him/her a lesson. How kind!

More survey results and much more can be found at www.patentyourkiss.com. Visitors are encouraged to submit their own kissing style and vote on their favourites.

Those numbers are up from a previous survey for the non-profit research institute, which found in January 2009 that a total of 54 per cent identified themselves only as Quebecers or as Quebecers first.

Jack Jedwab, executive director of the association,said that the poll suggests a long-term distancing of relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada.

“Thirty-one per cent of Quebec francophones see themselves as only Quebecers. That says to me there’s a not insignificant minority of Quebecers who feel a really strong sense of detachment to Canada,” Jedwab said.

Even surges in national pride out of events such as the Vancouver Winter Olympics have only a temporary effect on that distance, he said.

“I still think there’s a lot of ambivalence on the part of francophone Quebecers about their connection to Canada,” he said. “We shouldn’t assume that great events like that are going to have a sustained or long-term effect.”

Quebecers are less likely than ever before to identify themselves as Canadian

Just under 20 per cent of francophones surveyed by pollster Leger Marketing define themselves equally as Quebecers and Canadians, 7 per cent as Canadian first and only 1 per cent as Canadian only.

Jedwab said the detachment from Canada is profound and will be difficult to reverse, at least among Quebec francophones. “They see Quebec as their family and their first reference for them in terms of their attachment.”

And he said it will have major implications in how Ottawa sells Canada inside Quebec.

“We need to think about the message we convey to Quebecers when it comes to issues of identity,” he said. “We have to express our relationship in very pragmatic terms … it’s not an affair of the heart.”

“We have got to get away from trying to, for example, bomb Quebec with love: talking about how much we love Quebecers … we may feel that way, but the reality is that in order to sell Canada within Quebec we’ve got to focus on the things that are pragmatic about our relationship.”

The poll also suggested a widening gap between francophones and anglophones in Quebec when it comes to national identity. Among English-speaking Quebecers, identification with Canada mirrors francophones’ identification with Quebec: 45 per cent define themselves as Canadian first but also as Quebecers, 21 cent as equally Quebecers and Canadians and 18 per cent as Canadians only.

In total, 19 per cent of anglophones define themselves as Quebecers first but also Canadian, and two per cent see themselves as Quebecers only.

Jedwab said the survey also showed attachment to Canada waning among young Quebecers: only 18 per cent of those age 18-24 report strong feelings of attachment to the country.