A new survey that ranks Canadian cities for liveability may come as a surprise to those who consider Vancouver to be one the most beautiful and liveable cities in the world.
The Best Places to Live survey by MoneySense magazine found that Ottawa-Gatineau is the best place to live in Canada, with Victoria and Fredricton, New Brunswick ranking second and third respectively.
Based on factors that the magazine took into consideration, such as weather, jobs, average income, the cost of housing, and the availability of doctors, Vancouver ranked number 10 in the survey.
In spite of its size, and wealth, Calgary ranked 35th, while Toronto was 51st.
MoneySense said its latest liveability rankings are based on a survey of 154 communities, up from 123 last year.
"Where a city ends up on our list is not based upon judges' opinions or popularity polls,'' the magazine said.
It said the results are based on hard numbers, making its rankings "the fairest, most unbiased guide you can find to Canadian communities.''
Previous surveys rank all the various communities within the Greater Toronto area, for example, as one unit. However, MoneySense said it can now separately rate locales such as Mississauga, and Markham.
Similarly, the Greater Vancouver region was broken down into separate entries for the City of Vancouver, Burnaby and other surrounding communities.
