Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto among world’s 10 most ‘liveable’ cities in 2018

The Economist’s Global Liveability Index rates living conditions in 140 cities worldwide

Three of Canada’s largest cities — Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto — continue to rank among the top 10 most liveable cities in the world in The Economist’s latest survey.

The three cities are the only North American cities in the top 10 of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s 2018 Global Liveability Index.

In comparison to the EIU’s 2017 survey results, Calgary replaced Toronto in 4^th place, whereas Vancouver and Toronto dropped three places to 6^th and  7^th place respectively.

Austria’s capital city, Vienna, was named the world’s most liveable city for the first time, displacing Melbourne, Australia, for the top spot.

The EIU is the research and analysis unit of The Economist Group, which also operates the popular weekly magazine.

The Global Liveability Index is published annually by the EIU and measures living conditions in 140 cities around the world based on five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Each city receives a livability score based on qualitative and quantitative factors under each of the five categories. If a city achieves a rating of 100 in a specific category it means the city is ideal; a rating of 1 is considered intolerable.

The factors considered under each category are as follows:

1. Stability: This category examines the prevalence of crime, threat of terror/ military conflict or civil unrest.
2. Healthcare: This category focuses on the availability/quality of private and public healthcare, over-the-counter drugs and other general healthcare indicators.
3. Culture and Environment: This category measures various indicators that range from temperature rating, climate, level of corruption, social or religious restrictions, food/drink, and other social indicators.
4. Education: The category looks at the availability/quality of private and public education.
5. Infrastructure: This category is an assessment of the quality of roads, public transportation, availability of housing, and other indicators. 
   

 

 

 
The Distillery District in Toronto. Toronto ranks in 7th in this year's ranking.
 

 

How Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto performed

Calgary had a perfect score in four out of the five categories, with Culture and Environment its only shortcoming. Vancouver and Toronto received perfect scores for healthcare and education.

Out of all top 10 liveable cities in the world, Vancouver was the only city to get a perfect score in the Culture and Environment category.

The following table summarizes scores across all five categories:

City	Rank	Overall Rating	Stability	Healthcare	Culture &Environment	Education	Infrastructure
Calgary, Alberta	4	97.5	100	100	90	100	100
Vancouver, British Columbia	6	97.3	95	100	100	100	92.9
Toronto, Ontario	7	97.2	100	100	97.2	100	89.3

 

Calgary, a growing destination of choice for newcomers

The city of Calgary has a population of roughly 1.26 million people and is located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In recent years, the city has witnessed considerable growth, especially as a destination for newcomers to Canada.

According to the latest Statistics Canada data, the number of immigrants in the Calgary metropolitan area grew from 197,175 in 2001 to 404,700 in 2016.

Vancouver and Toronto are undoubtedly among the top destinations of choice for immigrants. In fact, immigrants made up approximately 46 per cent of Toronto’s population, and 40.8 per cent of Vancouver’s in 2016.

Several popular Canadian immigration options are available in all three provinces: Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Visit the following pages for further details on immigration programs pathways in each province:

• Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)
• British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)
• Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)