Apparently, Reginans are happy people. In fact, we’re the second-happiest people in the country, according to Jetpac City Guides, an iPhone app that helps cool people find cool places to meet other cool people. (Yes, there’s an app for that.)

The good folks at Jetpac City Guides analyzed more than 100 million public photos on Instagram to come up with a “smile score” for Canadian cities. Kingston, Ont., ranked first; Regina, second; and Quebec City, third; with Gatineau, Que., and Saskatoon rounding out the top five. The bottom five cities in Canada are: Whistler, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Go figure.

“It looks like the secret to finding happiness in Canada is either speaking French, being in Saskatchewan or being a student in Ontario,” says Julian Green, co-founder of the company that made the app.

So, why did Regina rank so highly on the happy meter? Well, as a lifelong resident of the Queen City (regina being Latin for “queen,” you know), I can honestly say that Regina is a cool place. Indeed, it’s one of the coldest cities in Canada. It ranks second for the lowest average minimum temperature annually (minus 3.2°C), third for average number of days below freezing (103) and third for fewest frost-free days (115).

Or maybe we get our sunny dispositions from living in one of the sunniest cities in Canada. Regina ranked fourth for the average number of days above 30°C (16) and is third or fourth among Canadian cities for sunshine (both average hours and days of sunshine and percentage of sunshine hours during daytime).

Or maybe we’re happy because we’re all working (almost all of us anyway). Regina had the lowest unemployment rate (at 4.2%) among Canadian cities in 2013. This city’s labour force participation rate (percentage of employed workers out of the total potential workforce) was 75% in 2013 – eight points above the national average and effectively full employment.

A recent study by Bank of Montreal ranked Regina’s job market as the most attractive in Canada, thanks to a combination of high median employment income (third-highest among Canadian cities at $70,500), low unemployment rate, competitive tax rates and relatively affordable housing (average house price is $311,400 vs $377,600 nationally).

Or maybe we’re smiling because we’re feeling economically secure. Saskatchewan’s capital city boasted the second-highest economic growth (4.7% in 2012 and 5.0% in 2013) among the major Canadian cities. Regina actually had the highest average growth in gross domestic product from 2003 to 2012 (3.7%) and is expected to average the highest growth (3.8%) from 2008 to 2017, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

My own explanation is that we’re among the happiest, smiling-est Canadians because our beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders won the Grey Cup on Nov. 24, 2013 – at home for the first time ever in the 113-year history of the CFL team!

With thousands of ‘Rider fans celebrating at Mosaic Stadium (capacity: 44,900) or parading down the Green Mile in Regina, sending pictures of their smiling faces around the world over the Internet, it’s a wonder we didn’t come first.

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