Canada's top 5 best cities for 2024

Each fall the world's Best Cities list is published. It is compiled by specialists from Resonance Consultancy, a globally recognized real estate, tourism, and economic development consultant. Bloomberg experts consider their methodology the most progressive. Now I will tell you in general about the criteria, and then we will go straight to the list.

Criteria for cities evaluation

So, every year more than 270 megacities around the world are assessed. The important condition is that the population must be over a million people. And then the analysis comes in. There are 24 evaluation factors in total, and they are divided into three groups.

First and foremost, it is determined how comfortable and livable a city is. This includes everything from safety to infrastructure. Then social criteria are taken into account: how friendly the city is to different segments of the population. Finally, the economy is examined: how expensive it is to live in the city and whether there has been any progress compared to previous years.

The list for 2024 includes five Canadian cities. The country is among the leaders in terms of representation. Only American, German, and British settlements are even more in the top 100. And now we move on to the most interesting. What are these cities and in what places?

Calgary

The 93rd line was taken by Calgary, it is in the province of Alberta. The city pleases on two parameters. First, it is the energy heart of Canada, the capital of its oil industry. That's why it has a strong economy and a high GDP, the highest in the country and 31st in the world. Due to commodity prices, the level of well-being of the city may fluctuate, but the factor Calgary maintains always is education.

The University of Calgary is world-renowned, and migrants from everywhere come here to do research. And even with immigration rates off the charts, housing here is incredibly cheap compared to other Canadian metropolitan areas. And it's all down to the ingenuity of the Alberta government.

There was too much office space when the world began to go remote actively. Entire high-rises in the centers of major cities are empty. From Edmonton to Calgary, they are being converted into apartments. The authorities create programs for construction companies to make the process profitable for them. As a result, more and more comfortable renovated apartments are appearing in Alberta's city centers.

Ottawa

We move to the 90th line of the ranking and find Ottawa there. A year ago, the capital of Canada was in 96th place, and now it is slowly but surely growing. Ottawa ranks 6th in the world in terms of education. Just imagine, there are almost 2,000 knowledge-based businesses here! Their focus ranges from cleantech and social sciences to aerospace. This means that Ottawa has a place to learn and work. As a result, the Canadian capital has one of the lowest poverty rates in the world.

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A special hello to all those who want to immigrate to Canada. In Ottawa, statistically, every fourth resident is an immigrant. I think this is close to the truth because my family and I live in Ottawa too. It's a cool city with a high level of tolerance and a relatively cheap living. We were able to afford to buy a big three-story house.

Montreal

Moving straight up to 60th place, here is beautiful Montreal, Canada's most European city. So if you can't decide whether you want to live in America or Europe, this is the perfect option.

The reasons for Montreal's international recognition are also very European: the city has an extremely well-developed infrastructure, is very friendly for cyclists and pedestrians, and is pleasant to walk around. It also offers good wages, strong entrepreneurial support, and excellent ecology.

The most important thing about Montreal is its very rich cultural life. There are a great many exhibitions, festivals, and the like. The authorities are actively investing in this brand of a kind of cultural capital, and as a result, two more huge new centers will appear in the city in the next two years alone.

One innovative complex will bring together business incubators, university research, and investors under its roof. The other will open on the grounds of the legendary Theatre St-Denis and breathe new life into Montreal's theater and restaurant scene.

We lived in the suburbs of Montreal for almost 4 years, it's a really nice city but it has one small drawback. It is in the French-speaking province of Quebec. It is for this reason that we moved to Ottawa.

Vancouver

Moving on, here we have Vancouver, which has shown impressive year-over-year growth. From 69th place last year, it moved up to 50th. This is the champion city in terms of comfortable living conditions. It has a very mild and warm climate, there is almost no snow, unlike the cities I mentioned earlier. The constant influx of skilled migrants makes Vancouver truly multicultural and diverse.

Important international events are constantly taking place here. In the next three years, Vancouverites will catch the Invictus Games, the Grey Cup, the Laver Cup international tennis tournament, the 90th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous, and part of the FIFA World Cup. And that's just in the city itself, and then there are the surrounding areas. For example, nearby Whistler hosted a major Writers Festival.

In between these events, the city's residents are not bored. The rich infrastructure offers plenty of ski slopes, bike paths, and hiking trails. Combined with the unique nature of British Columbia, it's an unparalleled experience!

Toronto

Finally, above all Canadian cities is of course Toronto. It holds the proud title of the second-largest financial center in North America. The first is New York, which, by the way, took an honorable bronze in the world's best cities ranking.

Toronto holds its position because of two strengths: its high rate of construction and — of particular interest to you and me — its constant influx of immigrants. Just imagine, half of its population was born outside of Canada. And the country's statistical service confidently asserts that the newcomers are very beneficial to the economy.

Living in Toronto is, of course, quite expensive, but the provincial government is trying to help residents. For example, in addition to the usual federal tax deduction, residents of Ontario have their own, separate, provincial one. Finding affordable housing in Toronto is a challenge, but that's what's driving local governments to invest even more in construction.

By the way, it's not just about housing. Toronto can compete with Montreal in terms of culture. The century-old Massey Hall and the huge new Ontario Court of Justice, designed by postmodernist Renzo Piano, have recently opened after renovation. A heart-shaped pond has appeared in Central Park, and the authorities have recently invested a lot of money in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. And all this is not only beauty and development but also jobs.

Toronto isn't forgetting about that either. Not so long ago, the government allocated funds for training. At the government's expense, digital literacy and work with innovative technologies will be taught to the elderly, people with disabilities, and, of course, to immigrants. In general, workers' rights in this vibrant heart of Ontario are being vigorously defended. This month, another strike by a labor union won in record time.

In general, although Canada didn't make it into the top 3 of the list, the mere fact that as many as five cities are present is very impressive. The vast majority of countries in the ranking are represented by one or two megacities. And you can probably guess the first three lines without me. I mentioned bronze earlier, it's New York. Paris took silver, and London was recognized as the best city for living and tourism.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today