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Shannon3Shannon, #1 on this list · Photo: Roncanada (CC BY 4.0)
Canada · 2026

How the towns of Canada stack up

2,556 towns of 2,500 or more in Canada, ranked on every grade and figure the country has. Shannon, Quebec, leads the overall list. Seven of the lists follow the graded subjects, and 15 rank described figures: income and growth, language and age, heritage, and the climate.

Letters compare each town with every town in Canada; the lists sort on the same grades every town page shows. How grades work

#1Marathon, Ontario most affordable#1Stittsville, Ontario safest#1Beaupré, Quebec healthiest#1Upper Mount Royal, Alberta jobs & income#1Old Ottawa South, Ontario most walkable
Best places to live in CanadaOne grade from safety, cost of living, schools, health, jobs & income, walkability and hazard risk, every ranked town on one list.
See the listCompare two towns
Champions

Lorne makes the top 10 on three lists

Top-ten finishes on the 10 lists where first is plainly best (not climate, age, language, growth or the size bands).

1
ManitobaLorne
  • #5best places to live
  • #5civic life
  • #6most affordable
2
QuebecVieux-Québec—Cap-Blanc—Colline parlementaire
  • #1most historic
  • #4healthiest
3
AlbertaUpper Mount Royal
  • #1jobs & income
  • #5highest incomes
4Stittsville, Ontario
  • #1safest
  • #8best places to live
5Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador
  • #2most affordable
  • #3jobs & income
6Lawrence Park North, Ontario
  • #3most walkable
  • #8highest incomes
Every list

25 ways to rank a town

Towns of 2,500 or more, grouped by what they measure.

Overall, and by size

Best places to live
  1. Shannon, QuebecA+
  2. Lac-Beauport, QuebecA+
  3. Boischatel, QuebecA+
Top 100 of 2,556 →Best big towns
  1. Burlington, OntarioA+
  2. Blainville, QuebecA+
  3. North Vancouver, British ColumbiaA
All 98 →Best small towns
  1. Shannon, QuebecA+
  2. Lac-Beauport, QuebecA+
  3. Boischatel, QuebecA+
Top 100 of 1,524 →

Subject by subject

Most affordable
  1. Marathon, OntarioA+
  2. Labrador City, Newfoundland and LabradorA+
  3. Division No. 19, Unorganized, ManitobaA+
Top 100 of 2,580 →Safest
  1. Stittsville, OntarioA+
  2. Carp, OntarioA+
  3. Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant, OntarioA+
Top 100 of 2,572 →Healthiest
  1. Beaupré, QuebecA+
  2. North Vancouver, British ColumbiaA+
  3. Saint-Sacrement, QuebecA+
Top 100 of 2,583 →Jobs & income
  1. Upper Mount Royal, AlbertaA+
  2. Yellowknife, Northwest TerritoriesA+
  3. Labrador City, Newfoundland and LabradorA+
Top 100 of 2,589 →Most walkable
  1. Old Ottawa South, OntarioA+
  2. Island Park-Wellington Village, OntarioA+
  3. Lawrence Park North, OntarioA+
Top 100 of 2,589 →Lowest hazard risk
  1. Arviat, NunavutA+
  2. Rankin Inlet, NunavutA+
  3. La Crète, AlbertaA+
Top 100 of 2,589 →Civic life
  1. Swan Valley West, ManitobaA+
  2. Swan River, ManitobaA+
  3. Killarney, ManitobaA+
Top 100 of 2,582 →

Described: figures, no letters

Highest incomes
  1. Elbow Park, Alberta$200,000
  2. Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills, Ontario$200,000
  3. Aspen Woods, Alberta$199,000
Top 100 of 2,589 →Fastest-growing
  1. East Gwillimbury, Ontario+44.4%
  2. Georgian Bay, Ontario+36.9%
  3. Thornbury, Ontario+33.7%
Top 100 of 1,117 →Most historic
  1. Vieux-Québec—Cap-Blanc—Colline parlementaire, Quebec213
  2. Stanstead, Quebec50
  3. Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, Quebec47
Top 100 of 2,589 →Most bilingual
  1. Bouctouche, New Brunswick81.2%
  2. Wellington, New Brunswick79.7%
  3. Cocagne, New Brunswick79.1%
Top 100 of 2,589 →Youngest
  1. Arviat, Nunavut21.8 years
  2. La Crète, Alberta23.4 years
  3. Waskaganish, Quebec25 years
Top 100 of 2,589 →Oldest
  1. Brockville, Manitoba67.7 years
  2. Qualicum Beach, British Columbia67.5 years
  3. Valhalla, Manitoba66 years
Top 100 of 2,589 →Mildest winters
  1. Tofino, British Columbia6°C (43°F)
  2. Oak Bay, British Columbia6°C (42°F)
  3. Saanich, British Columbia6°C (42°F)
Top 100 of 2,589 →Coldest winters
  1. Rankin Inlet, Nunavut-30°C (-22°F)
  2. Arviat, Nunavut-28°C (-19°F)
  3. Iqaluit, Nunavut-26°C (-15°F)
Top 100 of 2,589 →Warmest summers
  1. Oliver, British Columbia32°C (89°F)
  2. Osoyoos, British Columbia32°C (89°F)
  3. Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen, British Columbia32°C (89°F)
Top 100 of 2,589 →Coolest summers
  1. Iqaluit, Nunavut12°C (54°F)
  2. Prince Rupert, British Columbia15°C (58°F)
  3. Arviat, Nunavut15°C (59°F)
Top 100 of 2,589 →Fewest frosts
  1. Oak Bay, British Columbia10 frost days
  2. Esquimalt, British Columbia10 frost days
  3. View Royal, British Columbia10 frost days
Top 100 of 2,562 →Least snow
  1. Tofino, British Columbia14 cm
  2. Prince Rupert, British Columbia30 cm
  3. Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia35 cm
Top 100 of 2,538 →Snowiest
  1. Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador459 cm
  2. Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador443 cm
  3. Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Labrador443 cm
Top 100 of 2,538 →Driest
  1. Inuvik, Northwest Territories250 mm
  2. Kamloops, British Columbia273 mm
  3. Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola, British Columbia273 mm
Top 100 of 2,589 →Wettest
  1. Tofino, British Columbia3,111 mm
  2. Squamish, British Columbia2,344 mm
  3. Whistler, British Columbia2,344 mm
Top 100 of 2,589 →
Method

How the rankings work

  • 2,500 residents or more. Every list ranks the towns of that size; the national list of best places runs 100 to a page, and a province with 15 or more ranked towns has its own.
  • One grade everywhere. A town’s letter is the same on every list and on its own page, and it compares the town with towns in Canada only.
  • No ties left standing. Where two towns share a grade or a figure, the one with the better overall rank goes first.
  • Described lists carry no letters. Income, growth, language, age, heritage and climate are figures, not grades: the list shows the figure itself.
  • A list for what is measured. The schools list is by province only: schools are graded within Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, each against its own province, so there is no national order. First Nations reserves and campus neighbourhoods are in no list.
  • Campus towns sit out. Towns where most residents are students keep their grades but aren’t ranked.

How grades work

Province by province

Best places to live, province by province

AlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitobaNew BrunswickNewfoundland and LabradorNova ScotiaOntarioQuebecSaskatchewan
Province by province

Rankings in each province and territory

Alberta26 listsBritish Columbia26 listsManitoba24 listsNew Brunswick24 listsNewfoundland and Labrador24 listsNova Scotia24 listsOntario26 listsPrince Edward Island18 listsQuebec25 listsSaskatchewan24 lists
City by city

Neighbourhood rankings, city by city

Toronto14 listsMontréal13 listsCalgary14 listsEdmonton14 listsOttawa15 listsWinnipeg13 listsBrampton13 listsMississauga13 listsVancouver14 listsSurrey13 listsHamilton14 listsQuébec13 listsHalifax13 listsLondon13 listsLaval12 listsMarkham13 listsVaughan13 listsKitchener14 listsSaskatoon13 listsGatineau13 listsBurnaby13 listsWindsor13 listsLongueuil12 listsRegina13 lists

Photos: Shannon, Roncanada (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking Canadian towns against each other only, run #73 of 10 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).