What's the unhealthiest part of Canada? A study looked at obesity, cancer and stress

Have you ever wondered how your home province or territory compares to others in terms of public health metrics? A new study has revealed where each Canadian region stands.

Lighthouse Dental Centre in B.C. says its recent study looked at emission rates, obesity rates, stress levels and various chronic health conditions — including diabetes, COPD and high blood pressure — to determine how each province and territory ranks.

"The study also examined lifestyle choices like smoking and heavy drinking, as well as the availability of health care, indicated by the percentage of residents with a regular health-care provider," read a release from the centre.

It used 2023 data from the Government of Canada's database, with 13 criteria, to give each province or territory a final score out of 100.

Read on to find out how each Canadian region ranked.

Health scores by province, territory

The study ranked Yukon as the healthiest region in Canada, earning "an impressive" overall health score of 85.

On the other hand, Nova Scotia received the lowest health rating with just 40 points — less than half of Yukon's score.

Here's the complete rank of overall health scores across all regions:

But what data went into the overall scores? Read on to find out how the provinces and territories compare in some key findings of the study.

Environmental impact

One criteria to determine the healthiness of a region was 2021 emission rates, measured in tonnes per month (TPM) emitted per square kilometre.

"Alberta and Saskatchewan have notably high levels of TPM emitted per square [kilometre], indicating significant environmental stress in these regions," the email release read, noting both were at 14 TPM.

Prince Edward Island's emissions were also relatively on the higher end to the rest of the country, at just under nine TPM.

Yukon had the lowest amount of emissions at just 0.15 TPM.

Stress and mood disorders

The region with the highest percentage of perceived stress was Quebec, with 23 per cent of the population indicating stress. It was closely followed by British Columbia and Ontario at 21 per cent.

Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest percentage of perceived stress at 13 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia reported the highest percentage of mood disorders, which the release said "could be important indicators for mental health services."

Obesity rates

Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest obesity rates in the country at 41 per cent, "which could be a public health concern," according to the centre.

Among other Atlantic provinces, New Brunswick obesity rates were at 37 per cent, Prince Edward Island at 36 per cent and Nova Scotia at 35 per cent.

Ontario ranked third-lowest at 28 per cent, while British Columbia had the lowest obesity rates in Canada at 23 per cent of the population.

Smoking and drinking

According to the report release, Nunavut had "an alarmingly high daily smoker percentage" at about 47 per cent, "far above any other region."

Yukon had the lowest daily smoker percentage at just over 10 per cent, but 21 per cent are heavy drinkers.

In the Northwest Territories, smoking and heavy drinking are "significant issues," the report indicated. In that territory, about 28 per cent of people are heavy drinkers — the highest in the country.

Newfoundland and Labrador had the second highest rate of heavy drinkers at 22 per cent, followed by Yukon and other Atlantic provinces, between 19 and 21 per cent.

Eighteen per cent of Ontarians were reportedly heavy drinkers.

Cancer rates

Nova Scotia had the highest number of new cancer cases in 2020, at 677 per 100,000 people. It was followed closely by Quebec, with 667 new cancer cases per 100,000 people.

New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador also had high cancer rates of more than 600.

Nunavut had the lowest cancer rates at 179 per 100,000 residents.

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