Ottawa is named North America’s top city for quality of life 2026, i.e., a new data released for 2026 names Ottawa as the most livable city in Canada, offering a strong quality of life for both residents and visitors.
Ottawa placed 28th worldwide and ranked first among all North American cities. The ranking is based on key factors such as cost of living, safety, healthcare, pollution levels, and traffic commute time.
A total of 17 Canadian cities were recognized for their quality of life this year. These cities are spread across seven provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. Cities such as Nanaimo, Victoria, and Calgary also received strong rankings.
The rankings were published by Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database that compares cities based on cost of living, quality of life, and other social and economic factors.
Canadian Cities Featured In The 2026 Rankings
In Numbeo’s global Quality of Life Index for 2026, 17 Canadian cities earned a place among the most livable cities worldwide. Ontario had the highest number of cities included.
The table below lists the Canadian cities by province, ordered by how many cities from each province were ranked.
| Province | Canadian City |
| Ontario | Ottawa |
| London | |
| Mississauga | |
| Toronto | |
| Brampton | |
| Hamilton | |
| British Columbia | Nanaimo |
| Victoria | |
| Vancouver | |
| Kelowna | |
| Alberta | Calgary |
| Edmonton | |
| Quebec | Quebec City |
| Montreal | |
| Saskatchewan | Regina |
| Manitoba | Winnipeg |
| Nova Scotia | Halifax |
Compared to the 2025 rankings, only 14 Canadian cities were listed last year. The same seven provinces appeared in both years, but Brampton, Hamilton, and Nanaimo are new additions in 2026.
National Ranking Of Canadian Cities
As Ottawa is named North America’s top city for quality of life 2026, let us look at the national rankings of other Canadian cities.
Well, within Canada, cities from Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec dominated the top five spots for quality of life.
The table below shows how the 17 Canadian cities ranked nationally in 2026.
| National Rank | Canadian City |
| 1 | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 2 | Nanaimo, British Columbia |
| 3 | Victoria, British Columbia |
| 4 | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 5 | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 6 | Calgary, Alberta |
| 7 | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| 8 | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 9 | Kelowna, British Columbia |
| 10 | Montreal, Quebec |
| 11 | London, Ontario |
| 12 | Mississauga, Ontario |
| 13 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 14 | Brampton, Ontario |
| 15 | Regina, Saskatchewan |
| 16 | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 17 | Hamilton, Ontario |
Compared to last year, several cities saw changes in their positions:
- Calgary dropped five places, moving from first in 2025 to sixth in 2026
- Ottawa moved up from second place last year to first place in 2026
- Vancouver rose from fifth to fourth
- Edmonton fell from fourth to eighth
- Mississauga saw the largest drop, falling from fifth in 2025 to twelfth in 2026
Global Rankings Of Canadian Cities
Numbeo reviewed 304 cities across 95 countries and regions for its 2026 rankings.
Six Canadian cities placed within the top 100 most livable cities in the world. This is one fewer than in the previous year.
European cities dominated the top global rankings. Countries such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland filled the highest positions.
In 2025, the top North American city was Boise, Idaho, which ranked 13th worldwide. Canada’s first city appeared much lower that year, with Calgary ranked 74th.
In 2026, several Canadian cities shared the same quality of life score as international cities, including:
- Nanaimo (tied with Colorado Springs, United States)
- Vancouver and Quebec City (tied with Auckland, New Zealand)
- Montreal (tied with Salt Lake City, United States)
- Toronto (tied with Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel)
- Brampton (tied with Windhoek, Namibia)
- Winnipeg (tied with Lisbon, Portugal)
Even though these cities had the same overall score, their results differed in specific areas such as safety, healthcare, and pollution.
How Numbeo Measures Quality Of Life?
Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index gives an estimated score that reflects how comfortable daily life is in a city. The score is based on several factors, each given a specific weight.
The data comes from two sources: user-submitted information and data collected directly from trusted sources such as government websites, supermarkets, and taxi companies.
Data collected directly by Numbeo is updated twice a year and is given more weight than user submissions to improve accuracy.
Moreover, the index combines all factors into one final score using a formula that balances costs, safety, health, and living conditions.
The main factors used in the Quality of Life Index include:
- Purchasing Power Index (higher score is better): Measures how much people can buy with their income, including housing, food, and daily expenses, using New York City as a reference point.
- Cost of Living Index (lower score is better): Looks at the same expenses as purchasing power but focuses on overall cost.
- Pollution Index (lower score is better): Examines air and water quality, garbage management, noise, light pollution, green spaces, and general cleanliness.
- House Price to Income Ratio (lower score is better): Measures how affordable housing is based on income, rent, mortgage costs, and rental returns.
- Safety Index (higher score is better): Reviews crime levels, safety during the day and night, property crime, and violent crime.
- Health Care Index (higher score is better): Assesses the quality of healthcare systems, including doctors, hospitals, equipment, staff, and cost.
- Climate Index (higher score is better): Considers weather comfort, temperature, humidity, and extreme weather.
- Traffic Commute Time Index (lower score is better): Looks at commute length, traffic delays, emissions, and overall efficiency of transportation systems.
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