Choose a city

Choose the right city

Canada is a large country with many places to live, each with its own weather, culture, services and more. Even if you have friends and family living in Canada, take time to think about what you want your new life to be like. Do you wish to live in a large city? Would you be happier in a small town? What kind of schooling do you and your family want?

Canadian communities are diverse

If you have specific work skills, you will want to live in a place where you can best use them. Take time to consider other options, such as:

• Cost of living
• Health services
• Climate
• Cultural activities
• Community centres
• Libraries
• Facilities
• Languages spoken

Cities come in many sizes

Large cities

Most newcomers to Canada settle in one of the country’s three largest cities: Toronto (4.4 million people), Montréal (3.4 million) and Vancouver (1.9 million).

Medium-sized cities

Medium-sized cities range in size from about 100,000 to 1 million people. Examples of medium-sized Canadian cities from East to West include:

• St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Québec City, Quebec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Oshawa, Ontario
• Hamilton, Ontario
• St. Catharines, Ontario
• Kitchener, Ontario
• London, Ontario
• Windsor, Ontario
• Sudbury, Ontario
• Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• Regina, Saskatchewan
• Calgary, Alberta
• Edmonton, Alberta
• Victoria, British Columbia

Small cities

Smaller cities include such places as Sydney, Corner Brook, Charlottetown, Moncton, Trois-Rivières, Brandon, Moose Jaw, Red Deer and Kelowna. These offer most of the same public and private facilities as well as services found in the larger cities but with a lower cost of living.

Learn more about Canada’s cities and towns by visiting the websites of each province and territory. Many have information about government departments and agencies, educational institutions as well as links to large cities and towns. Most websites also list tourist information.

Living outside cities

Canada’s rural areas offer wide open spaces and plenty of fresh air. Whether or not public and private facilities are available in these areas will depend on how close you live to the nearest large town.

Consider francophone communities

While most French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, many live in other provinces or territories across Canada. Find out more about francophone communities outside Quebec.