10 Top Cities to Live in Canada 2012

I have previously covered various lists where Canada ranked on a global scale such as the smartest countries, the happiest countries, the best countries for entrepreneurs and best countries to live . I even recently wrote about a provincial report card and I’m continuing that inward look today with a list I came across that ranked the best cities to live within Canada. That’s right, if you have ever wondered where (or if) your city ranks or are curious about another location for any reason, this may be the list for you but you may find some surprises.

Today’s list was compiled based on a study by moneysense.ca, and they used “municipal data and information from Statistic Canada and other sources. Numbers below represent rankings out of 190 cities. Where statistics are only available by province, provincial rankings are shown. Some cities have the same ranks because they are tied.”

Moneysense.ca used 22 separate categories to compile this Best Places to Live list, which included: affordable housing, household income, discretionary income, new cars, population growth, low crime, doctors per 1,000, weather, jobless rate, and culture. In order to explain their methodology you must understand that “a total of 105 points was up for grabs. Each category was allotted a number of points depending on the importance of the category. For example, employment statistics are worth 10 points while sales taxes are worth 1 point. Some categories are further broken into subcategories. For example, the crime category is determined by statistics in the subcategories of violent crime, crime severity and total crime.” You can see what an Ideal City looks like through this interactive tool.

Now that we understand how this list came together, let’s look at how the top 10 shaped up:

1. Ottawa, ON, ranked 1st in 2011
2. Burlington, ON, ranked 3rd in 2011
3. Kingston, ON, ranked 4th in 2011
4. Halifax, NS, ranked 21st in 2011
5. Regina, SK, ranked 23rd in 2011
6. Brandon, MB, ranked 7th in 2011
7. Fredericton, NB, ranked 6th in 2011
8. Edmonton, AB, ranked 8th in 2011
9. Red Deer, AB, ranked 96th in 2011
10. Winnipeg, MB, ranked 10th in 2011

This is the third year in a row that Canada’s capital was ranked first. Ontario was represented the most in the top ten with the top three places and Toronto is not one of them. When comparing last year’s ranking to this year’s you’ll notice that some cities like Red Deer AB, Regina SK, and Halifax NS have moved up substantially.

Toronto, ON came in 47th this year and was 88th in 2011, Montreal, QC came in at 149 and Quebec City, QC ranked 23rd up from 25th in 2011. Calgary, AB came in 14th and was 16th in 2011. Vancouver, BC placed 56 and Victoria, BC 35.

This type of ranking gives a detailed look at cities across the country from a different perspective. The data provided in the report is worth a look to see where the communities in question gained and lost points. The changes in ranking between 2011 and 2012 are interesting as well. It’s still odd to see a list of the top cities in Canada and not see certain names.

Toronto’s ranking in each category was: Walk/Bike To Work – 60, Affordable Housing – 178, Household Income – 48, Discretionary Income – 28, New Cars – 31, Population Growth – 71, Low Crime – 61, Doctors Per 1,000 – 110, Weather – 25, Jobless Rate – 156 and Culture – 6.

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