Three small cities from Vancouver Island have made the list for best in the country, with our very own Victoria taking the top spot!
In Best Cities’ new ‘Canada’s Best Small Cities’ annual ranking for 2022, Victoria’s mild year-round climate, rainforests and Pacific beaches were a large contributing factor in the win.
However, our 94,890 residents know there is much more to love and celebrate.
Victoria beat out Kelowna, Kingston, and Niagara Falls for first place.
The annual ranking, powered by Resonance Consultancy, is generated based on six pillars: place, product, programming, people, prosperity and promotion.
‘Place’ analyzes a city’s natural and built environment, including weather and safety. Victoria ranked #35 in the weather subcategory.
‘Product’ includes a city’s key institutions, attractions and infrastructure. Victoria ranked #2 for parks and outdoors.
‘Programming’ notes the arts, culture and entertainment and culinary scene in a city, including restaurants, shopping and more. Victoria ranked #1 in Canada for its vibrant programming, including a top spot for nightlife.
‘People’ analyzes the immigration rate and diversity of a city. Victoria ranked in the top 5 cities for this category.
‘Prosperity’ is assessed based on data about the city’s employment and corporate head offices.
‘Promotion’ analyzes the quantity of stories, references and recommendations shared online about a city, such as Google reviews.
A couple other Vancouver Island cities made the list as well, with Nanaimo coming in 20th and Saanich in 23rd.
You can see the ranking’s top ten cities below:
- Victoria
- Kelowna
- Kingston
- Niagara Falls
- Waterloo
- North Vancouver
- Burlington
- Guelph
- Fredericton
- Lethbridge
You can see the full report here.
