Quality of Life in Perth-Huron
Introduction
Welcome to Quality of Life in Perth & Huron County 2023: a series of reports providing a holistic look at quality of life in Perth and Huron Counties. We present findings we can celebrate and issues we can work on. We hope these reports will act as catalysts for community discussions and collaborations and help leaders — elected and otherwise — make informed policy and funding decisions.
Quality of life refers to the general well-being of individuals and society defined in terms of health and happiness, rather than wealth. Purely economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product are not sufficient to measure well-being. A broad range of factors play into quality of life. This report looks at the subject from many angles.
The data in this report is drawn from a wide variety of local, provincial and national sources, each with varying scope and applicability. Some accurately reflect the whole population, while others may only reflect part of the population. It is also possible that errors or omissions have been made. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic seriously disrupted all types of organizations, often affecting their ability to collect consistent data. With this in mind, we should exercise caution as we interpret and analyze this data and we should hesitate to draw firm conclusions.
Quality of Life: Executive Summary
This series of reports provides a holistic look at quality of life in Perth and Huron Counties. We present findings we can celebrate and issues we can work on. We hope these reports will act as catalysts for community discussions and collaborations and help leaders—elected and otherwise—make informed policy and funding decisions.
This summary includes information and recommendations from the other five reports: Who We Are, A Strong Economy, A Diverse Community, A Clean Environment, and A Healthy Well-Being.
Executive Summary (Online Magazine) Executive Summary (PDF)
Quality of Life: Who We Are
This report provides demographic statistics from the most recent Census of Canada (2021) and a few estimators from Environics Analytics. Understanding the demographics of a community is like having a roadmap to meet unique needs.
Who We Are provides crucial information about the people who make up the Perth and Huron region. Knowledge and understanding of details such as age, gender, family composition, and geography help tailor services and programs that resonate with the community’s specific needs.
Who We Are (Online Magazine) Who We Are (PDF)
Quality of Life: A Strong Economy
Economic factors have a critical impact on quality of life. Employment is a significant contributor to overall quality of life. Together, income, financial security and employment directly impact one’s ability to afford essentials such as adequate housing, food, energy, internet and transportation. Emotional, physical and mental well-being is connected to access to these critical rights and factors.
While low income is an indicator of living in poverty, it is not the same thing. Poverty is complex provide various indicators that contribute to having enough money or access to resources to enjoy a decent standard of living.
Our Strong Economy provides recommendations for community organizations and different levels of government to engage in positive actions to improve our economic well-being.
A Strong Economy (Online Magazine) A Strong Economy (PDF)
Quality of Life: A Diverse Community
A community can be diverse in many ways. It might be home to people from a range of ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. Community members may have different lifestyles, interests, values and experiences. Encouraging and maintaining a diverse community involves appreciating and respecting the ways people can be different from one another.
It is important to consider the interconnected nature of elements of diversity such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, culture, and varied abilities. How our systems reflect and value diversity is important for the quality of life of our community.
A Diverse Community offers recommendations for individuals, businesses, organizations and all levels of government to harness the advantage of the diversity in our community.
A Diverse Community (Online Magazine) A Diverse Community (PDF)
Quality of Life: A Clean Environment
The environment around us is key to our existence. Our forests, rivers, lakes and soil provide us with the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Our health and prosperity rely on the natural world and we must keep it healthy to survive. For Indigenous peoples, their relationship with the land is spiritual, whereas the Western worldview largely sees the land and its resources as commodities to develop and extract for the benefit of humans. In our region, there are reasons to be concerned about the environment, from a rise in Special Air Quality Statements to the state of our forests and wetlands.
A Clean Environment (Online Magazine) A Clean Environment (PDF)
Quality of Life: A Healthy Well-Being
Our physical and mental health and the quality of our social environment all play into our quality of life. As social creatures, we are intimately affected by our social ties. Factors including the safety of our neighbourhoods, community connections, the quality of our schools and the representativeness of our governments all work to determine our well-being.
This report also describes factors contributing to individual health, such as adequate income, meaningful work, decent housing and healthy food. Shifting these conditions requires collective action across society to create equitable communities and policies enabling everyone to enjoy health and well-being.
A Healthy Well-Being (Online Magazine) A Healthy Well-Being (PDF)