Vancouver surpassed by Toronto as most expensive city in Canada: survey
A file photo shows Vancouver's skyline before the sun fully sets. (CTV/ Pete Cline)
Vancouver is no longer the most expensive city in Canada, according to a new survey.
Mercer's 2022 Cost of Living ranking puts Toronto as the 89th most expensive city in the world, while Vancouver came in at 108th.
Vancouver’s spot on the list dropped from 93 last year, while Toronto’s jumped up from 98.
Overall, Hong Kong was listed as the world’s most expensive city, followed by Zurich and Geneva.
In a news release, Nicole Stewart of Mercer Canada said, “Although Canada continues to be a relatively affordable place to live and an attractive destination for remote workers, like other advanced economies, it is seeing significant price increases in goods and services.”
The results were calculated based on Mercer’s Cost of Living data research - a survey carried out twice a year “to help multinational companies and governments around the world determine compensation strategies for their expatriate employees.” It looks at more than 400 cities around the world.
To calculate the cost of living index, the company looks at prices of items such as housing, utilities, food, transportation and entertainment.
Top 5 most expensive cities in Canada:
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Montréal
- Ottawa
- Calgary
Top 10 most expensive cities in the world:
- Hong Kong
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Basel, Switzerland
- Bern, Switzerland
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- New York City, United States
- Singapore, Singapore
- Tokyo, Japan
- Beijing, China
Top 10 least expensive cities in the world:
- Ankara, Turkey (least expensive)
- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Dushanbe, Tajikistan
- Islamabad, Pakistan
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Tunis, Tunisia
- Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Algiers, Algeria
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