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Edmonton Has The Saddest Tweets In Canada

#SadFace: This City Sends Out The Most Unhappy Tweets
kimberrywood via Getty Images

Why so #sad, Edmonton?

According to a research team at the University of Ottawa, Edmontonians send out more unhappy tweets than Twitter users in several other major Canadian cities.

Abdulmotaleb El Saddik, a professor with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, spent a week last month analyzing the hashtags and emoticons of 132,181 tweets coming out of Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax.

Researchers also used "a four-dimensional vector analysis involving the four elements of pleasantness, arousal, dominance and unpredictability," a press release explains.

They found that Edmonton is the "least happy" city of the six, with the other cities sending out 5 to 12 per cent more happy tweets than Alberta's capital.

Listen to El Saddik talk with CBC Edmonton about the study. Story continues below:

El Saddik says it's still too early to conclude why Edmonton tweeters appear less happy, but told the Ottawa Citizen it's possible that falling oil prices and the poor performance of the Edmonton Oilers during the study could be to blame.

  • Canada's happiest tweeters live in Ottawa and Montreal
  • Vancouver tweeters are happier in the morning than in the evening
  • Haligonians post the happiest tweets on Friday night – 17 per cent happier tweets than Vancouverites during the same time
  • All the cities in the study has the same levels of happiness on the weekends
  • Hockey games (or other city events) can influence a city's mood

El Saddik told CBC News his team will continue to collect and analyze tweets, and will release more results this month.

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