Canadian cities broken into tiers

[jayswin]

From the Edmonton thread, there was a bit of discussion on how the Canadian cities fit into different tiers. With so many posters from so many Canadian cities/regions, I'd be interested in a CP group project, where we try to come to some kind of consensus on a tiered ranking of Canadian cities.

I'll get the ball rolling with a few cities, then we can add more in as people make their cases.

As I stated in the other thread, I believe Calgary is a cut above the second tier of cities, but below the big three at this point.

Tier 1
Toronto
Vancouver
Montreal

Tier 1b
Calgary

Tier 2
Edmonton
Quebec City
Ottawa

Tier 3
Regina
Halifax

[OutOfTheCube]

Winnipeg would probably fit into a 2b area... Better than Regina, bet worse than Ottawa/Quebec

[Knalus]

Ottawa and Calgary are on the same tier, no question in my mind.

[OffsideSpecialist]

I've never been to Halifax, but I don't think anyone I know who has would ever consider Regina or Winnipeg on par, let alone better.

That being said, I guess my liste would be:

Tier 1
Toronto
montreal
Vancouver

Tier 2
Calgary
Ottawa
Quebec

Tier 3
Edmonton
Halifax

That being said, I would probably would not hesitate to live in any of the cities outside Quebec on the list. My level of French is better suited to visiting there than living there lol.

[Mass_nerder]

I would definitely put halifax above regina.
It's actually my favorite city in canada, ahead of vancouver and montreal.
Obviously it doesn't compare with those cities in terms of economy, and what each city offers, but it's beautiful, it's people are friendly and it has a very different, unique feel.
Plus there are so many good looking women, and too many great pubs and seafood joints.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I've never been to Halifax, but I don't think anyone I know who has would ever consider Regina or Winnipeg on par, let alone better.

That being said, I guess my liste would be:

Tier 1
Toronto
montreal
Vancouver

Tier 2
Calgary
Ottawa
Quebec

Tier 3
Edmonton
Halifax

That being said, I would probably would not hesitate to live in any of the cities outside Quebec on the list. My level of French is better suited to visiting there than living there lol.

As much as we make fun of Edmonton, with 1.1 mil (I believe) people, an NHL hockey team, it's music scene, and the events and concerts it attracts, I don't think there's anyway it could be considered tier 3.

[jayswin]

Maybe we should add populations in brackets just for reference. Halifax for example, I thought was closer to 6-7 hundred thousand, turns out it's only 400k.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by flameswin

As much as we make fun of Edmonton, with 1.1 mil (I believe) people, an NHL hockey team, it's music scene, and the events and concerts it attracts, I don't think there's anyway it could be considered tier 3.

Okay then, let's flip Quebec and Edmonton. I'm okay with either arrangement. Seems logical that all the 1,000,000+ cities should be in the top 23 tiers anyway.

[Kipper is King]

I agree that Halifax and Ottawa both deserve a somewhat higher rank.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Tier 1
Montreal
Vancouver
Toronto

Tier 2
Calgary
Ottawa
Quebec
Victoria

Tier 3
Edmonton
Winnipeg
St. John's
Saskatoon
Halifax

Tier 4
Regina

[DownhillGoat]

If you're putting any city on Saskatchewan on that list, there's not a chance would I put Regina on that list over Saskatoon.

[jayswin]

So just going off your list and then revising it a little. (metro populations)
Personally I think population should be weighted pretty heavily.

Tier 1
Toronto (5.5mil)
Montreal (3.8mil)
Vancouver (2.4 mil)

Tier 2
Calgary (1.2mil)
Ottawa (1.2mil)
Quebec (765k)
Edmonton (1.15mil)

Tier 3
Halifax (413k)
Winnipeg (730k)
Victoria (345k)


Tier 4
Regina (210k)
Kelowna (180k)
Saskatoon (260k)


I'm admittedly a little ignorant on smaller Ontario cities, so if anyone wants to add their two cents, feel free.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

If you're putting any city on Saskatchewan on that list, there's not a chance would I put Regina on that list over Saskatoon.

I like Saskatoon! It's not the most exciting city but I certainly like it more than Regina.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by flameswin

So just going off your list and then revising it a little. (metro populations)
Personally I think population should be weighted pretty heavily.

Tier 1
Toronto (5.5mil)
Montreal (3.8mil)
Vancouver (2.4 mil)

Tier 2
Calgary (1.2mil)
Ottawa (1.2mil)
Quebec (765k)
Edmonton (1.15mil)

Tier 3
Halifax (413k)
Winnipeg (730k)
Victoria (345k)


Tier 4
Regina (210k)
Kelowna (180k)
Saskatoon (260k)


I'm admittedly a little ignorant on smaller Ontario cities, so if anyone wants to add their two cents, feel free.

By the time we get beyond tier 3, I think it's starting to get to be about the same for everyone. I think London, Kingston, St. Catherine's, Hamilton would all fit into that tier 4 category. I would put Waterloo below whatever the lowest tier is though, I can't stand that city. I think that this one is pretty good list.

[DownhillGoat]

Also, what about Victoria?

[OffsideSpecialist]

Personally, I always forget that Victoria exists. I've never been to Vancouver Island, but will make it one of these years.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Also, what about Victoria?

It's in tier 3.

[Matty81]

I dunno if I know what the criteria are. Seems like based on the rankings so far it is how cosmopolitan or interesting the cities are to live in? Does that include range of things to do? Culture? Sports? And then what about population - is it good just because there are more people?

Am biased as I obviously live in a smaller city but for me size of the city has very little correlation to how highly I'd rate them on a world scale for visiting or living. I would recommend St. John's, Victoria or Kelowna for instance to someone moving to Canada over Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Regina which I think are all dumps other than a few small pockets.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by flameswin

It's in tier 3.

Whoops didn't see the updated list

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I dunno if I know what the criteria are. Seems like based on the rankings so far it is how cosmopolitan or interesting the cities are to live in? Does that include range of things to do? Culture? Sports? And then what about population - is it good just because there are more people?

Am biased as I obviously live in a smaller city but for me size of the city has very little correlation to how highly I'd rate them on a world scale for visiting or living. I would recommend St. John's, Victoria or Kelowna for instance to someone moving to Canada over Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Regina which I think are all dumps other than a few small pockets.

Population will always have a huge effect on a city's ranking. Now that we have the populations laid out, I think it would be good to start getting into culture, history, location, climate, sports, economy etc.

For example, somewhere like Quebec City is going to be higher than Winnipeg with relatively similar populations, due to culture/history.

Also, a place like Victoria might swing above it's population weight class due to climate, location, while the big cities (1mil +) aren't likely to be surpassed by smaller cities due to amounts of sports teams, concerts/events, etc.

On top of that, places like Calgary and Edmonton will have a huge advantage in the economy/jobs category.