The New Top Cities in the World Ranking Is Out , and Montreal's Place has been lowered

Following its position as #8 on Wanderlust's list of most sought-after cities, Montreal is facing an even harsher assessment for this edition of the World's Top Cities list, released on 11 November by Resonance Consultancy.

The year before, Montreal barely made it into the top 50. They ranked at No. 48. This was far from Toronto, which landed at No. 18. The two cities have fallen off the rankings and are now in the bottom half of the list, with Toronto continuing to lead the way at number. 24 and Montreal finishing in a little 56th spot, just behind Denver, Colorado.

Resonance Consultancy compiles its annual rankings "using an amalgamation of quantitative and statistical assessments by visitors and locals" in the world's most prestigious cities. The evaluations are classified into six categories of location (or "the perceived quality of a city's built and natural environments"), products ("a city's major infrastructure, institutions, and attractions"), and programming people ("the degree of education of the city's population as well as the percentage of the population that is in the workforce") as well as economic prosperity (including an estimate of GDP per person as well as the levels of equality between incomes) along with promotion (the number of times a city is mentioned by cities in the media as well as the number of recommendations on the internet).

 

Despite what the company calls Montreal's "convivial-above-all" attitude (citation needed), it criticizes the City's healthcare network, pointing to the high number of COVID-19 deaths in senior residences, which the consultancy said has "exposed the ugly underbelly of an underfunded system."

It's a harsh critique, and the list does acknowledge that Montreal is still a leader in terms of equality in income across the world, ranked at No.12. Resonance is also pleased with the City's "smoldering underground music scene digitally-generated placemaking and a plethora of creative expression at every corner," which soothes the pain a bit.

 

Toronto, the top-ranked Canadian City on this list, does not face the same scrutiny; instead, it's being praised due to its "diversity and its education system," that Resonance Consultancy credits for the City's success in business as well as higher education.

The second highest-ranked Canadian City, following Montreal. The next City to be ranked after Montreal follows (surprisingly sufficient) Calgary at No. 65. Even though Calgary has been criticized for its high unemployment level, "one of the highest levels of unemployment in Canadian cities over the last calendar year," According to Resonance Consultancy and its low-cost real property and high GDP compare favorably with the rest of Canada.

The charm of Montreal may keep us from the next one. Maybe one day we'll beat Toronto.