B.C.’s capital is number one when it comes to the best small cities in Canada, according to a new ranking released by a global consulting firm.
For the first time, Resonance Consultancy — known for its annual “best cities” ranking — has named the 25 top-performing Canadian cities with populations under 200,000.
Victoria proper, which has a population of over 94,000, landed the top spot on the list, above second-place Kelowna and third-place Kingston, Ont.
“With its mild year-round climate and an artisanal, independent spirit at play among rainforests and Pacific beaches, Victoria is the hometown you never knew you coveted,” the firm’s writeup says.
It goes on to describe Victoria as no longer just a place for the “newlywed and nearly dead,” a well-known moniker it says is now “out-of-date” for the city.
“This city is seemingly engineered for the post-pandemic, seize-the-day, work-from-home lifestyle sought by those privileged enough to appreciate such ease of mobility, while it genuinely pursues equality for its residents and an overdue collaboration with the 10 First Nations who’ve always called this region home,” writes Resonance.
“Yes, Victoria is named after the British monarch and will always put out high tea for paying tourists and nostalgic (or irony-seeking) locals, but Little England has grown up to focus on its more worthwhile attributes.”
Despite the city’s low ranking in the weather subcategory (#35 on the list) because of its relative fewer sunny days per year, Victoria still took top spot due to its high rankings in the categories of nightlife (#1), parks and outdoors (#2) and promotions (#2) — a category that analyzes Google searches and TripAdvisor reviews.
Among the list of accolades given to the city is one for its thriving tech industry “with annual revenues that should approach $3.5 billion this year,” says the firm.
It’s not new for the city to be placed at or near the top on many ‘best of’ lists — a study released earlier this year analyzing TripAdvisor reviews named it one of the best cities to spend a night on the town, and it’s routinely named one of the most romantic cities in Canada.
However, the city has also received the dubious distinction of being one of the least affordable cities in Canada when it comes to housing, according to a report released by the National Bank of Canada last month.
Resonance says its benchmarking system used the same methodology as its “best cities” list —taking into consideration factors like relative quality of the city, reputation, infrastructure, arts and culture, entertainment, diversity and prosperity.
Other B.C. cities that cracked the top 25 best small cities include North Vancouver (#6), Kamloops (#18), Nanaimo (#20) and Saanich (#24).
Read the full list here.
CHEK News
