Ottawa Tops the List of Best Places to Live in Canada

For the second year in a row, MoneySense Magazine has ranked Ottawa as the #1 place to live in Canada. This news is hardly a surprise to those of us who love the Capital City. Ottawa has low unemployment, a healthy median income of $91,000 per year, and a less frenzied real estate market than other large Canadian cities, MoneySense says. Considering historic upgrades to public transit, access to excellent health and medical services, and ever-expanding opportunities to enjoy world-class arts and culture, and it is no wonder that Ottawa is such a desirable place to call home.

MoneySense used 36 different characteristics, from median income an tax rates to cultural amenities and local climate, to evaluate more than 400 municipalities large and small across the country. That number is almost double what the magazine has included in previous years, allowing them to capture some much smaller communities. In fact, the Top 10 is dominated by small town, such as Weyburn, SK, and Oak Bay, BC, but the cities of Burlington, ON and Levis, QC also broke the Top 10, at 9 and 10 respectively.

Moneysense's Best Place to Live feature includes a fun interactive tool that you can use to weigh the rankings according to your own priorities. Looking for a place where taxes are low and the weather is fine? Where you can find great health care and dependable public transit? Where low housing prices will mean you have extra cash to spend on arts and entertainment? Adjust your preferences to find your own rankings. But be prepared - Ottawa often comes out on top!