Last year, a global ranking of the best cities highlighted five Canadian cities for the year 2024. Now we’re squarely in the middle of 2024, and a lot has happened recently that begs a revisit.
Earlier this year, Canada also capped international student visas to two years to “maintain a sustainable level of temporary residence in Canada.”
June Consumer Price Index data showed that inflation is finally slowing. The Bank of Canada has cut its interest rate (with more rate cuts expected). On Thursday, two major grocery giants in the country became the last to sign the Grocery Code of Conduct.
On Wednesday, the feds revealed details about a $30 billion transit fund that will improve things further. These are just a few of the internal developments since Resonance Consultancy revealed the World’s Best Cities List for 2024.
Researchers studied several cities and considered a wide variety of factors to create the top 100.
These included weather conditions, nightlife, outdoor fun opportunities, safety, landmarks and attractions such as museums, university rankings, education, shopping, culture, online popularity and check-ins, employment rate, and economic prosperity.
Considering all that, London is the reigning #1 city in the world this year, followed by Paris, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, San Francisco, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Seoul.
Here’s how Canadian cities fared.
Toronto — #23 👑
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We don’t see a Canadian spot on the list until Toronto at number 23. The city has climbed up one rank since Resonance’s 2023 ranking.
“Economic growth, fueled by immigration and global investment, has Canada’s largest city poised for big things,” said researchers.
Its top-25 position is credited to its massive skilled immigrant population, substantial construction projects and growing green spaces, and its universities, which rank #10 globally.
Vancouver — #50
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Vancouver may come after Toronto in this list, but the city jumped in the ranks, going from #69 to #50, all within a year!
The report highlighted Vancouver’s ancient forests, totem poles, pan-Asian diaspora, and “hockey-loving hipsters.”
The city is also known for holding major world games and conventions, many of which are slated for the near future.
Much like Toronto, Vancouver’s multiculturalism makes it an ideal city, but it has a big leg up thanks to its milder climate. Resonance’s ranking also placed it at #43 among the world’s most livable cities because of Vancouver’s best-of-both-worlds characteristics — its urban setting paired with gorgeous natural vistas and trails.
However, the report pointed out that Vancouver isn’t prepared for tourism this year due to rising real estate prices, which led to many hotels being converted into social housing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That means the existing hotel rooms and vacation rentals are often too prohibitively priced to allow a new generation to fall in love with this special place,” it reads.
Montreal — #60
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For the 2023 rankings, Montreal was in the 57th position. It ranked #22 for its culture — particularly its forever-budding indie music scene and creativity. However, for 2024, it went down three spots to #60 but remains one of Canada’s most laidback and innovative cities.
“By late 2024, an innovation hub called Ax-C should open downtown, uniting entrepreneurs, incubators, university researchers, management experts, and investors under one roof,” reads Montreal’s analysis. “The hope is for it to reignite the downtown in a WFH reality.”
Among other Canadian cities on the list, this one shined bright in the local arts and hospitality department, ranking #48 globally for restaurants.
“There’s also a genuine effort to make the city more bike and pedestrian-friendly, with this summer’s $22 million funding of 53 bike infrastructure projects and the move to close many streets to cars from spring to fall,” Resonance concluded.
Ottawa — #90
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Dubbed the “cosmopolitan capital of Canada” by Resonance, Ottawa shot up to the 90th position from the 96th in 2023.
“Canada’s capital has long lived in the shadow of its bigger-city siblings, Toronto and Montreal. But a national 150th birthday in 2017 brought attention to the citizens (ranking an astonishing #6 globally for Educational Attainment) of a city where one-in-four is an immigrant,” notes the report. “All that brainpower has poured into almost 2,000 knowledge-based businesses—everything from cleantech and life sciences to aerospace.”
Despite heightened overall unemployment, the city boasts many new jobs and ranks relatively low (#38) in Resonance’s world poverty rate. Though home prices are going up, buying may become a bit easier due to further rate cuts expected from the Bank of Canada. The cost of living is relatively lower, too.
Ottawa also got a shoutout for “increasingly (and finally)” prioritizing Indigenous reconciliation.
“The city’s understated outdoor bounty is also a growing priority, with the newly renovated NCC River House in the Rockcliffe area doing its best Helsinki impression, and Westboro Beach being restored for swimming.”
Calgary — #93
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Calgary’s outlook for 2024 was a little rocky, as the city dropped from #65 to #93 in just one year, but it is “slowly emerging from a near decade of economic hardship.”
“Although Toronto is Canada’s business heart, it’s Calgary — with one of the country’s youngest populations and home to its oil-industry-forged entrepreneurialism — that’s always been the challenger,” reads the report. “The city has long been home to the most Americans per capita in Canada and is increasingly the destination of choice for immigrants.”
Calgary ranked #31 globally in Resonance’s GDP per Capita subcategory — by far the highest among Canadian cities. It is known for its housing affordability, which continues to attract not only new immigrants but also residents of other provinces.
The city ranked #21 globally for Education Attainment, and half a dozen new hotels have mushroomed around it, keeping travellers hooked.
This article was originally published on October 3, 2023.