Toronto Not In Top Ten Best Places To Live In Canada
Posted April 27, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MoneySense has released their annual list of the best places to live in Canada – and Toronto didn’t even crack the top ten.
Instead, Victoria, British Columbia, took the top spot. The West Coast city beat long-time champion Ottawa-Gatineau in the rankings.
The survey looked at 24 indicators, including weather and crime levels, to arrive at the following results:
10. Brandon, Man.
9. Peterborough, Ont.
8. Winnipeg, Man.
7. Fredericton, N.B.
6. Moncton, N.B.
5. Vancouver, B.C.
4. Burlington, Ont.
3. Kingston, Ont.
2. Ottawa-Gatineau
1. Victoria
Here in the GTA, we came in at a dismal 79th place.
“Our grading system looks only at features that have a broad appeal and that can be reliably measured,” Ian McGugan, MoneySense editor wrote.
“And while we have nothing against beaches and nice scenery, we concentrate on practical matters, like how easy it is to find a job, locate a doctor and afford a house. We want readers to refer to our listings when they go to buy a house, move or invest in a community.”
So why didn’t Toronto make the cut?
For starters, housing prices are astronomically high. Out of 154 surveyed cities, we came in at 141. In this case, close to the bottom means we’re at the top of the market.
For another, our unemployment rate is also high. The lower a city’s unemployment rate, the higher a place ranks and Toronto came in at 126.
But there’s some good news: we were second only to Motnreal in terms of “buzz” – the percentage of residents employed in arts, culture, recreation and sports.
To read the full article and see how MoneySense came to these numbers, click here.
