Two Ontario cities named among best in the world for 2026

When Canadian cities get the recognition they deserve, we can’t help but cheer them on, especially when it’s on a grand scale. The World’s 100 Best Cities report for 2026 is officially out, and two Ontario cities scored among the best.

Resonance Consultancy, leading advisors in real estate, tourism, and economic development, has revealed its annual report this week.

This year’s World’s Best Cities report is the second edition that combines Ipsos research on desirability of places to visit, work, and live, and analysis by Resonance of the reasons that drive performance.

How was it conducted?

And like last year, in order to narrow down cities and list them from one to 100, the report combined a number of factors. This included the performance data of their Livability, Lovability and Prosperity categories with perception data reflecting the opinions and preferences of over 21,000 respondents in 31 countries.

The factors within each category include:

• Livability metrics include: biking, walkability, weather, air quality, climate risk, green space sights & landmarks, nature & parks, public transit, Internet Infrastructure, Standard of Living, Health, and Perception
• Lovability metrics include: Google Trends, TikToks, nightlife, restaurants, shopping, family-friendly attractions, Facebook Check-ins, Instagram Posts, Museums, Perception
• Prosperity metrics include: Convention Centre, Large Companies, Labour Force Participation, Airports, University, Economic Output, Business Ecosystem, Unemployment Rate, Educational Attainment, Perception

“The survey was constructed to extract the towns and cities where these 21,000 people would most like to live, where they would most like to visit, and where they believe they would find the best job opportunities,” shares the report.

“This was accomplished with three open-ended questions where respondents could identify the towns and cities that they prefer.”

Where did our Ontario cities land?

After a thorough review, Resonance shared that two Ontario cities made the cut.

This year, Toronto came in 17th place, falling two places from its 15th position last year. This time around, it leads in Educational Attainment and University.

It’s considered one of North America’s most educated metros, coming in fourth for the most educated population on the planet.

Despite Canada’s capital city landing in 52nd place in 2025, this year’s rendition of the report saw Ottawa drop to 73rd place.

Nonetheless, the report finds Ottawa entering 2026 as a “cosmopolitan city,” decisively reinventing itself. Its Place Power highlights Educational Attainment and Weather.

Though it’s a bummer to see our beloved cities take a fall this year, look on the bright side — we made the World’s 100 best cities. And that’s something to be proud of!

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