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If you’ve been feeling like living in Montreal has become more of a challenge lately, you’re not imagining it.
The Globe and Mail just released its second annual ranking of Canada’s most livable cities, and Montreal has taken a serious tumble.
While we’re no strangers to heated debates about how Montreal stacks up against the best cities in Canada, this year’s results have given us plenty to chew on.
That’s right — the city often celebrated as a cultural hub and international destination didn’t even crack the top 150 in Canada. For 2024, Montreal now sits at a disappointing #171, after plummeting 29 spots from last year’s already low rank of #142.
The ranking evaluated 448 communities across Canada using 50 variables across 10 categories the Globe deemed crucial when considering moving to a city — things like health care, education, local economy, housing, safety and amenities.
This year, new metrics were added, including long-term climate change impacts and the availability of museums and galleries, with the goal of painting a more detailed picture of what makes a city desirable beyond just affordability.
It’s worth noting that the ranking looked at municipalities rather than metropolitan areas or census divisions. Therefore, suburbs and neighbouring cities within Greater Montreal — including enclaves like Mount Royal and Westmount — are all ranked individually. And most of them outshine the city itself.
For instance, Mount Royal ranked in lofty 18th place — the highest-ranking spot in Quebec — while Westmount came in at a respectable #34. Meanwhile, West Island suburbs like Kirkland (#103), Beaconsfield (#107) and Pointe-Claire (#118) also ranked way higher than Montreal.
This fragmented approach could partly explain why the City of Montreal struggles to compete against big cities like Toronto, whose wealthier suburbs like North York and Etobicoke are part of the larger municipality.
Other Greater Montreal municipalities that outranked the city itself include Boucherville (#38), Rosemère (#45), La Prairie (#58) and Laval (#69).
Meanwhile, the province’s other bigger cities like Quebec City (#46), Lévis (#57) and Gatineau (#121) also ranked much higher than Montreal, despite our strengths in education (#4 in Canada) and amenities (#9). Dismal scores in climate (#425), economy (#433), and safety (#445 — yes, out of 448) pushed the city down the rankings.
Nationally, the top three cities were all in B.C.: North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Victoria. Vancouver proper ranked a respectable 12th, and Toronto ranked at #82 — not much to write home about, but then again, who are we to judge?
Here are the top 10 most livable cities in Canada for 2024, according to the Globe and Mail:
- North Vancouver, B.C.
- West Vancouver, B.C.
- Victoria, B.C.
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Calgary, Alberta
- Pitt Meadows, B.C.
- Penticton, B.C.
- Oakville, Ontario
For a city that has so much going for it, it stings to see Montreal lagging so far behind. But if there’s one thing Montrealers excel at, it’s turning setbacks into motivation.
Could 2025 see a comeback? Only time — and perhaps a bit of collaboration across the island — will tell.
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