Most Burned Out Cities in Canada
- Drummondville, QC, is the most stressed-out city in Canada, with 29% residents reporting poor mental health.
- Ontario is the most stressed-out province, with five cities reporting high burnout rates and consistently high stress levels.
- Windsor, ON, lands in second place, with 30% of residents reporting high life stress, the highest rate in the country.
A recent poll found that 40% of Canadians say their stress levels have increased compared to last year. CasinooftheKings set out to rank the most burned-out cities in Canada by analyzing key stress indicators, from mental health to commute times and finances. Using official data sources, each city was assigned an index to reflect overall burnout risk. The study looked at unemployment rate, average commute time, median household income, percentage of people reporting fair or poor mental health and high life stress, and monthly cost of living.
Here is the summary of the findings:
| City | Unemployment Rate (%) | Average Commute Time (Minutes) | Median Household Income (CAD) | Percentage of People Reported Having Fair or Poor Mental Health | Percentage of People Reported Having High Life Stress | Monthly Cost of Living (CAD) | Burnout Score |
| Drummondville, QC | 6.50% | 23.2 | $64,000 | 28.64% | 6.40% | $1,386 | 99 |
| Windsor, ON | 10.80% | 23.6 | $82,000 | 12.08% | 30.45% | $2,025 | 83 |
| Peterborough, ON | 11.70% | 23.6 | $79,000 | 8.94% | 23.48% | $2,008 | 67 |
| Kingston, ON | 8.00% | 23.6 | $83,000 | 10.64% | 26.77% | $1,473 | 54 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara, ON | 7.20% | 21.1 | $77,000 | 12.38% | 19.05% | $2,080 | 51 |
| Belleville – Quinte West, ON | 4.10% | 23.6 | $78,000 | 15.29% | 17.72% | $1,991 | 42 |
| Saint John, NB | 7.40% | 25.6 | $74,000 | 7.27% | 17.61% | $1,716 | 41 |
| Moncton, NB | 6.00% | 25.6 | $74,500 | 9.51% | 17.12% | $1,658 | 39 |
| Abbotsford-Mission, BC | 6.30% | 30.5 | $91,000 | 10.22% | 21.36% | $2,063 | 38 |
| Kelowna, BC | 5.80% | 30.5 | $85,000 | 9.32% | 19.27% | $1,984 | 37 |
Drummondville, QC, is the most stressed-out city in Canada, topping the list with a burnout score of 99. Drummondville topped the list after scoring the highest for reports of bad mental health and the lowest household income. Financial issues often cause a lot of stress, and this is evident with 29% of the city’s residents feeling the effects on their mental health.
Windsor, ON, ranked second largely due to high unemployment. Nearly 11% of the locals here are unemployed, causing a serious financial burden. Pairing that with the country’s highest rate of reported life stress of 30%, Windsor is feeling the burnout effects of a lack of economic stability.
Peterborough, Ontario neighbor to Windsor, follows a similar profile. It has the highest unemployment rate in the entire nation, as 11.7% are unable to find jobs. Combined with a low household income but high cost of living, these few economic lifelines explain why 23% of its residents report living in high stress.
Kingston, ON, lands in fourth place among Canada’s most burned-out cities, with over a quarter of residents reporting high stress levels. Identical to all of its Ontario neighbours, the city sees average daily commutes of 23.6 minutes, adding just enough pressure to tip the balance. Altogether, Kingston posts a burnout score of 54.
St. Catharines–Niagara rounds out the top five with a final stress score of 51. The region has the highest cost of living on the list at $2K per month, alongside a lower-than-average household income. About 12% of residents report poor mental health, placing the city firmly among the most burnout-prone in the country.
Belleville–Quinte West ranks sixth overall with a burnout score of 42. Like Drummondville, which ranks first, it reports both a relatively low median income and elevated rates of mental health strain. 15% of residents report poor mental health, the second highest in the country, and the area also faces a higher-than-average cost of living. The similarities point to a shared pattern of stress across regions with overlapping economic challenges.
Saint John, NB, follows in close at seventh as the most stressed-out city in Canada with a burnout score of 41. Saint John has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at 7.4% having no steady income. As the job market hasn’t fully bounced back, residents find economic hardship to be the cause of their burnout.
Moncton, NB, ranks eighth among Canada’s most burned-out cities, with locals facing some of the country’s longest commutes at 25 minutes each way. Residents here are spending more time in transit than the average Canadian, as well as Moncton reports some of the highest stress levels nationwide.
Abbotsford–Mission, BC, comes in ninth with a burnout score of 38, largely reflecting the region’s growing mental health strain. About 1 in 10 residents report being in poor mental shape, and 21% say they’re feeling stressed, clear signs that life here is amongst the most stressful.
Kelowna, BC, finishes out the top ten most stressed-out cities in Canada with a burnout score of 37, closely mirroring nearby Abbotsford–Mission. It might not be one of the country’s biggest cities, but nearly 20% of residents report feeling burned out. On top of that, locals spend over an hour a day commuting, the highest in the entire ranking.
A spokesperson from CasinooftheKings recently commented, “Financial struggles are a major source of stress for so many people across Canada. When job security is uncertain and the cost of living keeps rising, it creates constant pressure that wears on mental health. This kind of ongoing stress can feel overwhelming and exhausting, affecting every part of life. Recognizing how deeply financial stress impacts wellbeing is essential to finding real solutions and supporting communities that are struggling the most.”