Ottawa 365 days: Ottawa the best place to live in Canada, magazine decides

Ottawa the best place to live in Canada, magazine decides - CTV News

"Ottawa's great economy, low crime rate and steady population growth put the city back on top as the best place to live in Canada, according to rankings released Thursday by MoneySense magazine."

"This year, the Top 10 broke down like this:

Ottawa-Gatineau
Kingston, Ont.
Burlington, Ont.
Fredericton, N.B.
Moncton, N.B.
Repentigny, Que.
Brandon, Man.
Victoria, B.C.
Winnipeg, Man."

"Ottawa won for a few reasons, but mainly because it was the most recession-resistant city in Canada. It's full of public service workers. They didn't lose their jobs this year and they didn't have pay cuts. So while many other cities saw their standard of living drop a little bit when the recession hit, Ottawa didn't," Hood explained."

"We have the highest share of commuters who take public transit, cycle or walk to work, instead of drive of any major Canadian city," he noted as an example of what makes Ottawa great."

"Canada's biggest cities, such as Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver were notably absent from the list. In most cases, they fit the old saw of "nice places to visit but you wouldn't want to live there," because of soaring housing costs and high crime."