Canadian cities ‘dominate’ North American quality-of-life rankings

TheGlobeAndMail.com
Feb. 23, 2016
Michael Babad

Several Canadian cities rank near the top in Mercer’s annual quality-of-living report, with Vancouver leading the way.

Vancouver ranks fifth behind Vienna, Zurich, Auckland and Munich. Toronto ties with Melbourne for No. 15, Ottawa is No. 17, Montreal is No. 23 and Calgary No. 32.

At the very bottom of the 230-country ranking released today is Baghdad.

Mercer looks at everything from local economies and health care to education and safety in its rankings, which, among other things, can help companies calculate compensation for foreign postings.

“Quality of living remains high in North America, where Canadian cities dominate the top of the list,” Mercer said.

“Canadian cities all rank high for personal safety, with Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and  Vancouver sharing 16th place,” it added.