When you think of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the first thing that comes to mind is the province’s energy sector and the oil sands.
But the northern Alberta city can now lay claim to being Canada’s Most Romantic City.
A survey by Amazon Canada placed Fort McMurray at the top of the list as it climbed to number one from third overall last year. For the last seven years, Victoria held the top spot but is 10th overall this year.
Amazon said the 11th annual ranking was compiled by comparing sales data from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 20,000 residents. The data looks at purchases of romance novels (both print and Kindle editions), romantic comedies, relationship books, jewellery and sexual wellness products.
This year, the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in Canada are:
- Fort McMurray;
- Toronto;
- Yellowknife;
- Bonnyville, Alberta;
- North York, Ontario
- Ottawa;
- Grand Prairie
- Burlington, Ontario;
- Kelowna;
- Victoria;
- Whitehorse;
- Calgary;
- Quesnel, British Columbia;
- Cranbrook;
- Edmonton;
- Pembroke, Ontario;
- Campbell River, British Columbia;
- Prince George, British Columbia;
- Kingston, Ontario; and
- Revelstoke, British Columbia
“Across the west (Alberta and BC), residents are proud to demonstrate their flair for romance, as they take 12 of the top 20 cities, proving west is best,” said Amazon in a news release on Wednesday.
Amazon Canada recently launched its annual Valentine’s Day store (www.amazon.ca/valentinesday), which features a variety of curated lists for gift ideas.
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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