25°c Partly cloudy
18°c Cloudy periods
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Vancouver still best Canadian city: survey
Ranks fifth in world; Vienna keeps top spot
TORONTO -- Vancouver is tops in Canada for quality of life with its moderate climate contributing to its high ranking, says an annual survey.
The West Coast city also has retained its fifth-place spot globally in the 2012 Mercer Quality of Living survey.
Overall, Vienna retains the top spot as the city with the world's best quality of living, also keeping its first-place ranking, said the survey released on Tuesday. Baghdad was last out of 221 cities.
The survey said Canada offers some of the best quality of living in the world with Ottawa ranking 14th, Toronto 15th, Montreal 23rd and Calgary 32nd.
"One of the things that Vancouver has going for it that the other cities do not is climate," said Mercer Canada's Eleana Rodriguez.
"All four of the other Canadian cities that are on the ranking don't have the kind of climate that Vancouver has, so obviously that's a factor to consider."
Canada has five cities ranked in the Top 35 cities in the world, she said, adding Calgary advanced one ranking and Montreal dropped by one ranking.
"We score quite high," said Rodriguez, market business leader for Mercer Canada in Toronto.
Consulting firm Mercer looked at 39 factors such as a city's political and social environment and its economic and socio-cultural environment, areas in which Canada scored quite well.
The firm also looked at medical and health access, education and access to schools, public transportation, recreation, availability of housing and consumer goods, as well as climate.
"Vienna scores high on a number of those areas," Rodriguez said.
The survey also found Zurich and the New Zealand city of Auckland were ranked second and third with Munich taking fourth spot.
The annual survey helps multinational companies and organizations compensate employees when they're placed on international assignments.
In the United States, the top three cities were Honolulu, ranked 28th with the highest quality of living, followed by San Francisco in 29th place and Boston at 35th.
Rodriguez said there was little change this year in the rankings for North American cities.
This year, Mercer included a separate ranking for city infrastructure, including access to clean water, electricity telephone, mail, public transport, traffic and access to an international airport. Singapore ranks highest for infrastructure with Haiti's Port-au-Prince the lowest. Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are: Khartoum, Sudan; N'Djamena, Chad; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Bangui in the Central African Republic.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 5, 2012 B3
More Business
- Back to Top
- Return to Business
More Business
(1 of 50 articles for today)
Jamaica eyes its expatriates as investment source in efforts to kick start economic growth
6:40 PM 0KINGSTON, Jamaica - In a bid to kick start Jamaica's chronically stagnant economy, the Caribbean country is wooing its citizens ...
Poll
Most Popular Business
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Shark Club opens in citiplace
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- Magellan signs MOU to produce F-35 tails
- NY, Va. 7-Eleven stores raided as US accuses owners and managers of exploiting immigrants
- Carriers turned off by Canada's wireless law
- Local business incubator gets new name
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Passenger: Man who disrupted Hong Kong flight ranted about CIA, was not stable
- U.S. hedge fund increases its ownership stake in Tim Hortons to 5.5%
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Aircraft maintenance engineer taking off
- Shark Club opens in citiplace
- Two CBC reporters freed after being detained in Turkey
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Toronto condo market poses economic risk to Canada
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- New owner for lumber stores
- Fund helps entrepreneurs fly
- New owner for lumber stores
- Earls Pembina says goodbye after 18 years
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- Grove Pub to take over former home of Papa George's
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Where is easy street? Survey of city's richest routes may surprise
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Custom-made suits no longer just for the ultra-wealthy
- Eateries brace for Blue blitz
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- Warren Buffett -- Winnipeg-style
- Knights riding in with cash to spend
- Transcona transformation
- Target exceeds sales goal at Canadian stores
- The $2-million question
- Oil more lucrative than mining
- NY, Va. 7-Eleven stores raided as US accuses owners and managers of exploiting immigrants
- Bombardier wins German locomotive rail order potentially worth US$2 billion
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Toronto condo market poses economic risk to Canada
- Cutting edge, made-in-Manitoba tech finds buyer -- in Manitoba
- Google unveils Internet beaming balloons launched into stratosphere
- Warren Buffett -- Winnipeg-style
- Fund helps entrepreneurs fly
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- New owner for lumber stores
- New owner for lumber stores
- Snowbirds: It's that time of year again
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- Custom-made suits no longer just for the ultra-wealthy
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- Where is easy street? Survey of city's richest routes may surprise
- Value Partners cracks $1-B mark in assets
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Manitoba Movers
- Grove Pub to take over former home of Papa George's
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.