Calgary lags behind Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal in a new ranking of best global cities with populations of more than one million.
The report released Wednesday by Resonance Consultancy, uses a combination of statistical performance and qualitative evaluations by locals and visitors in 22 areas grouped into six core categories.
Resonance says 100 cities were evaluated Calgary was ranked 48 by the Resonance criteria. Toronto was 17th, Vancouver 41st and Montreal 45th. Ottawa was ranked 77th and Edmonton 83rd.
“The World’s Best Cities rankings are composed of experiential factors that people consider most important in choosing a city to live and visit, as well as empirical factors that business decision-makers consider important for business or investment,” Chris Fair, Resonance Consultancy president & CEO said in a news release.
Based on each city’s performance in 22 factors analyzed, these are the World’s Best Cities for 2020:
- London, England
- New York City
- Paris, France
- Tokyo, Japan
- Moscow, Russia
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Singapore, Republic of Singapore
- Barcelona, Spain
- Los Angeles, U.S.
- Rome, Italy
Resonance Consultancy said it ranks the world’s cities (principal cities of metropolitan areas with populations of more than one million) by using a combination of statistical performance and qualitative evaluations by locals and visitors in 22 areas grouped into six core categories. Principal cities are defined as the largest city in each metropolitan statistical area.
The six core categories analyzed are: place, product, people, prosperity, promotion and programming.
The report said economic growth, immigration and global investment have Canada’s largest city — Toronto — poised for big things.
“Canada’s largest city has always been a refuge for people and capital—from English companies leaving a newly Francophone Montréal in the ’70s to steady immigration. With almost half of its population foreign-born, Toronto’s #17 overall finish is powered by its diversity and Education Attainment rankings—the two components of our People category, for which the city ranks #3, just behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” said the report.
“Unlike with those Middle Eastern cities, Toronto’s diversity is less tied to migrant labor. The city’s openness, combined with its economy (with the seventh-most Global 500 head offices in the world) has resulted in unprecedented density and a satisfaction with just staying put, sated by real estate wealth and the comfort that the world is already in town. Of course, winning an NBA title doesn’t hurt, either. Getting less attention is the 100,000 new residents arriving annually. University of Toronto researchers predict that, in less than 50 years, the city will trail only New York City and Mexico City in North American population.”
Resonance, with offices in Vancouver and New York, advises clients in tourism, real estate and economic development.
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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