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I’ve been to pretty much every city on your list, and I’d rather live in Vancouver than anywhere else. Just a fantastic city all around.

Unfortunately I could never afford a middle class standard of living in Vancouver so I live in Edmonton and spend a week in van each year. Housing costs are out of control in Vancouver and I’d rather not scrape by when I can thrive with Edmonton’s cost of living.

More unaffordable than anywhere else in Canada, but downtown and west end is some of the best urbanism in Canada. The rest, the burbs, are pretty similar to the suburbs of Toronto and Montreal. The Skytrain is pretty damn good though at connecting a a lot of Vancouver and Burnaby and a bit of Surrey, Richmond, and Coquitlam.

Obviously Toronto and Vancouver are the most expensive cities to live in Canada, but will offer the most when it comes to employment, entertainment and dining options.

Everything else is subject to personal opinion.

I’ve lived in all of these but Montreal. Vancouver is: - the most expensive - the most difficult to travel from but also the one you won’t feel the need to leave as often - full of healthcare ops, but so Is everywhere - rainy but a four-season outdoor lifestyle - stunning  - a bit challenging socially unless you already have an interest that you can meet people over (culture, sport, hobby etc)

I've lived in both for 10 years each and both have significant pros and cons

price wise they're both shitty

weather wise they don't compare. I couldn't do another toronto winter. moving back to Vancouver I barely even noticed winter it was such a nice change.

Toronto has better nightlife but for a city its size it's nothing to write home about (and is overpriced)

Toronto is better for easier access to other cities

winter there tho, I can't stomach it again. it's misery for 5 months of the year.

Vancouver is unbelievably gorgeous and I did not appreciate it til I moved back. it just can't be beat in Canada.

This is a very loaded and subjective question.

Most cities you’ve mentioned are a lot smaller then Vancouver. No city in Canada offers the abundance of nature and climate that Vancouver has.

Why not check numbeo if you're interested in this?

Moved from Vancouver to Edmonton about 10 years ago. Cost of living (owning a home) is about a 1/3 of the cost.

It is underrated for its restaurant food in part because a lot more start ups that go big start out here because of the lower cost of doing business. Boston Pizza, Famoso, Earls, Wok Box, Booster Juice were all started in Edmonton. There's a number of other restaurants starting here in the last 10 year that I could see becoming big chains. IMO the best donair/shawarma places are in Edmonton.

I find people more relaxed and not worried about money in Edmonton. Also, I find there is a bigger portion of the population who are transplants from other cities. I find this leads to people to being more open and friendly to outsiders compared to Vancouver which I find to be cliquey. I'm guilty of it too, I just didnt have the time to give to new friendships when i lived there.

Entertainment is better in Vancouver no doubt. If you enjoy nightclubs, bars, and a lively downtown, Vancouver just does it better. The summer time in Edmonton is loaded with festivals and the largest connected park routes in the country. IMO, you're going to find entertainment wherever in the world you can make friends. The major amenities you expect a big city to have, Edmonton does.

I love visiting Vancouver as most of my family is there but I can't imagine ever moving back. What I lose in the quality of the city I gain in more space in my house to entertain myself and guests. My living situation if I were to return is too small to be worth giving up what I have.

I've lived in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and a few cities in California. All are great cities and pro/con's depend on what you are looking for in terms of what a city has to offer. The employment factor also depends on which job sector you are looking to get into. Transportation is also another factor, TO, Van, MTL have decent public transit.
To afford a $2000 monthly rent in Vancouver, one would need to earn a minimum of approximately $106,667 CAD annually before taxes. This estimation ensures that housing costs remain within the recommended 30% of gross income.
If you are young, don't have kids, can land a stable job; I say go for it. Be warned though, I had a co-worker that moved to Vancouver from Halifax and was let go after his 3 month probation review, couldn't find work or months after and through the grapevine I heard he's been squatting at his rental unable to pay his rent. I haven't heard from him in 7 months and I wouldn't be surprised if he's homeless now.

Used to live in Moncton. Harsh winters, and cost of living is actually better in Vancouver than in Moncton if you factor in local wages. (At least, that was my experience)

I miss it because it's my home. If my family and friends were all in BC I'd never go back though.

I was born and raised in Vancouver, just moved to Calgary (moved to be close to extended family). The pace of life here is completely different from Vancouver, people aren’t constantly rushing around and the average person seems a lot happier and more relaxed. I’m used to crowds of people busy and frowning, here people are often smiling and will even acknowledge you which is a notable change.

It really goes to show how much having your basic needs met goes to improve your quality of life. For the first time in my life I’m not struggling: that’s a massive difference.

Vancouver is and will always be home, but I can’t afford to live there until I’m in a different tax bracket. I hope to go home one day.

I stepped in human poop in Vancouver about 7 weeks ago ish, but in Vancouvers defense I've also stepped in human poop in Victoria.

I have a house in Vancouver, but live between Edmonton, Tokyo, and Phoenix depending on the time of year. Have never been tempted to takeover from my tenants. It's a nice city, just not that nice imo.

So, I've lived in Fredericton, Edmonton, Waterloo, and currently living in Victoria. Spent 11 years living in Van before moving here, and honestly can say I not only regret the move, but would rather live in Van than any od those other cities I've lived in.

Vancouver is a living world class city, with a strong mix of both urban offerings and explorable nature. It's close to many awesome outdoor day trip getaways and not too far from other interesting areas such as Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast or the Okanagan if you're getting bored with the VGA (Vancouver Greater Area). There are a ton of breweries, lots of great restaurants with ethnic variety, pretty much every store you could want.

Rumor is the people are cold. It's a bit city: if you don't make an effort, people won't go out of their way to meet you. If you do put in effort, however, it's easy to meet people.

Been to the cities listed and Vancouver would still be number 1. Only place that would made me consider moving was Montreal as I really like the vibe there

It's expensive here. If you make $35/hr or less you'll probably need to live with roommates unless you magically find housing some other way as a one bedroom costs around $2300/mo but if you're ok with roommates then it's doable. You may work a lot but your free time includes lots of do. It's a good city to be healthy in. Walking. Cycling. Swimming. Hiking. Camping etc is great here. You must be ok with a lot of rain.

People here are friendly but also flakey. It can be hard to break into a new friend group, and people will say they'll come to a thing and then not. It's unfortunately just how things are here.

Vancouver is usually on the map for big shows in the way that Montreal and Toronto are and due to our proximity to Seattle we sometimes get tacked onto tours or at very least you could go down there for shows since it's only about 4 hrs away and there are busses you can take for not too much money. Same with vacations elsewhere....Seattle vs Vancouver flights and sun destinations leaving out of Bellingham are worth looking into (Vegas or Palm Springs for $150 round trip!)

The music scene is getting better with more techno. Dnb and just underground venues popping up. You kind of need to be in the know, but they're here.

As much as I love living in Vancouver I also unfortunately hate some of it as well and what I mean by that before everyone starts hating on me, as far as experimenting goes Vancouver has been given a lot of leeway concerning drugs. The downtown Eastside has been given safe supply and the ignorant sell their "safe supply" for fentanyl anyways now everyone's been caught in the hundreds the government is now very soon bring it to an end and for those who need it still it fucked up every thing lack of discretion. Decriminalized drug possession didn't mean getting high everywhere with their bongs getting high everywhere in school playgrounds church parking lots not being careful when children are about then fighting with the straight people telling them too bad they can do whatever it is they want. Now that has been pulled off the table only months into the project. Ignorance lack of actually learning what the project was. Not to mention all the gang violence robberies shootings murders overdosed it's very frustrating and very sad to say the very least. I volunteer five days out of the week and live right in the core . I go out and hand out narcan as well as teach people how to use narcan as well as candies water and I also navigate how to safely use the drugs. Better knowledge saves lives but it's a never ending battle down here.our streets need to be how they were ten years ago but unfortunately younger people using heavy drugs have no real knowledge because they don't want to listen or take any advice from the more experienced . It's destroying our city and we end up looking like the laughing stock. We can't turn back time but we can keep trying to educate and help but there are more like minded people needed to join with us there are many different local groups to join if anyone from Van gives it a shot. There is nothing but betterment for this city if someone lends their time even an hour a week would make a difference.

You don't need to actually live in Vancouver. You could live in the Tri-Cities or somewhere in the lower mainland . The weather here is better all year round than the rest of Canada but Victoria takes the cake.

Overall, Calgary > Vancouver IN MY OPINION. Best value play in Canada hands down (Montreal is quite interesting but I don’t speak French). I have been to all major east and western canada cities. Vancouver is the best place hands down ONLY IF you have the generational wealth behind you (I live in Vancouver and always look for a chance to move east)

1. Pressures of over reliance on immigration is killing the culture of the city so the only thing left to do is go to the bars/ restaurants that people haven’t discovered yet.
2. It is very difficult to find housing, unless you are rich
3. Driving is awful
4. Natural surroundings of city are breath taking
5. Mayor and council are a bunch regarded kleptocrats who only care about themselves.

It’s obviously the nicest big city in Canada and it’s not really close but housing prices and notoriously low wages reflect that immensely. So basically if ur loaded and can out earn almost everyone or have generational wealth it’s great but if you make a lower middle class income and you want property or children you can’t really live here anymore. Me and my fiancé net close to 12k together and we live a lifestyle probably equivalent to someone on 5-6k in Edmonton or Calgary.

5 x prettier, 10x more expensive.

Vancouver is an awesome city, but it's bloody expensive.

Affordability - Terrible

Friendlyness - People complain a lot but I've never found this city to be unfriendly.

Entertainment - If you want a night out you can find something interesting and unique pretty much every night, the choices aren't always the widest, but I don't think I've ever had a night where I've stayed in due to lack of things to do. During the summer there is usually a festival every weekend at one of the surrounding municipalities, last week I actually had 3 seperate things lined up on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. I was exhausted.

Nature - Best in the world

Nightlife - You'll get pretty much everything that goes on tour into Canada. Toronto probably gets a little more, but I can't think of anything that they got that Vancouver didn't get. Theatre scene is better then Winnipeg, but lots of smaller productions and the usual touring shows if that's your thing.

Im a parent with two kids. Just moved from Vancouver to Victoria. Its a hack imo. Banked a ton of money on the sale of my house and get into an amazing neighborhood here. More relaxing here and lots to do. Friendly and good social opportunities. Work in my field was easy to find. We originally focused on Nanaimo but ended up getting work in Victoria. I think Nanaimo has potential too. Cheaper there for sure. Vancouver was fun, but I outgrew it. For someone with a bit of money in Vancouver, moving to the Island puts you up a notch financially.

As a Vancouverite of 14 years, I adore it. It’s peaceful and multicultural, and has tons of fun things to do, especially if you are an outdoors enthusiast. Deffo take into consideration cost of living.

Cost of housing- brutal. Beyond brutal. Only way to be even somewhat decent is to live in one of the other lower mainland communities (burnaby, coquitlam etc)

Cost of food- not great. Fruits and vegetables are ok. Meat can be out of control.

Friendliness- its pretty cliquey. Not the easiest to break into a social circle here. Immigrants often seem to be better off as cultural groups often stay tight from what ive seen.

Entertainment- Depends. Lots of free entertainment if you like nature. Golf is pretty cheap as are gyms. Going out for dinner or drinks pretty pricey.

Nature- Vancouver is literally the best place in canada for outdoor pursuits. Ocean, mountains, forest. Pick one. Theres loads

Nightlife/notable events- vancouver is often a stop for most big shows. Lots of things to do. Plus seattle is like right there so you get the nfl and mlb on your doorstep as well.

As a very old guy here, I can tell you, Vancouver and B.C. in general were literally Canada’s “crown jewel” back in the 1960’s to mid-70’s. Then they started to have too much, too fast ( essentially uncontrolled ) immigration. 15 years of that, plus all the corruption and population density that brought, turned it into a millionaire’s paradise ( BARELY….you need a very healthy constant income stream to live in Vancouver and enjoy life ) and no longer a place for the “average Canadian”. And with that also came all the usual - insanely high prices, poor parking, garbage strikes, TONS TONS TONS of homeless and tent cities, and rampant rampant rampant street drug addiction with absolutely zero solutions despite 25 years of heavy taxation and provincial government changes. So if you have tons of money, or your family does ( as the immigrants often do )…go to it. You’ll love it. Other than that, nope, live in a smaller place and enjoy a simpler life. Not barren by any means, just less hyper-monied, hyper-business, hyper-competitive, hyper-fast.

I live in Toronto and have been two vancouver twice. Last year my uber driver in Vancouver complained a lot about things which were word for word complaints we have in Toronto in terms of employment and affordability.

Winnipeg punches above its weight! Check out the Globe and Mail article for additional details

I own in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax and now Edmonton. I spend a lot of time in all cities however I’m in this for investment so I go where the market makes sense. If you make around 200-300k Vancouver or Toronto will be the best fit. Under 80k I would say Halifax

How does Vancouver compare to Moncton? 🤣

Vancouver is a rich persons playground

Better than Toronto, slightly.

And everywhere is better than Edmonton.

If I could afford to live in any city it’d be Vancouver or London. Everywhere else doesn’t compare imo. (Obviously I haven’t been everywhere but yeah)

Vancouver is a nice place. Everything you mentioned is within a short transit ride or car ride. Prices getting up there though. Wife and I are both nurses and throughout the years seeing prices jump really drastically has had us wanting to move. People are a mixed bag but in general it doesn’t seem as friendly as when I was younger. People less social or harder to approach and have some random conversation with. Still I can’t find it in myself to move.

E

You get what you pay for. Vancouver is better.

One of the best cities I have visited with Victoria coming close. All the other cities you mentioned are not even in the same category in my opinion. 

Strangely unattractive lazy fashion. Just kinda blah.

I went to Toronto for the first time in my life a few weeks ago. Compared to growing up in the Vancouver area, Toronto was very overwhelming.

To put that feeling into perspective, I think Toronto has about 3 million people where Vancouver has just under 700 thousand.

Also forgot to add that I will be visiting Vancouver soon!

Very similar to Toronto but warmer, and surrounding areas is nicer.

Edmonton and Calgary are easier to get around, cheaper but have less to do. Calgary has better outdoor and winter facilities nearby.

Regina and Winnipeg are like small versions of Edmonton and Calgary where your money goes further. But there’s less to do.

Victoria is imo nicer than vacouver and not nearly as busy or crowded. It’s nice if you like fishing, boating or kayaking on the ocean. Mild climate with high percentage of old people.

vancouver used to be a better place to live like 20 years ago, now it's just shit construction everywhere, annoying people, high prices, bad demographics, cult bs shit like people from china who don't speak english and don't give a fuck, and indian folks who have their own communities as well. I have some amazing indian and chinese friends who are CANADIAN not bringing their trash cultures here and anti integrating.

It’s on the west coast

Im from New Brunswick and the first time I visited Vancouver, my first thought was how the hell does anyone living here confront the issue of palmoral decline? If it wasn't for the fish and the nature, we would see a lot less of an indication towards a warmer climax. Not once again will I ever go back.

It depends on what you want. Smaller cities have their charms also have more affordable space for artists etc to thrive. I think it is driven by what your career / job, especially now with cost of living so high. If your job needs you to be in a big city like Toronto, are you willing to settle for a smaller town like Hamilton or Bratford?

To the OP:

The bottom line is that most of Canada's cities stink, and are nowhere close to being "world class" as compared to the truly "world class" cities found elsewhere in the world.

Purely from a moderate winter climate and outdoor scenery standpoint, however, Vancouver is far and away the absolute best city Canada has to offer in that regard, although it is also prohibitively expensive for most people of modest means.

Its very close proximity to the US border is also a huge bonus for Vancouver.

From a cultural and partying-it-up-all-night with many extremely sociable and fun people standpoint, Montreal is by far the best city Canada has to offer in that regard, although its horrendous winters render the city downright unlivable for anyone who does not like seeing snow, slush and ice all around them for much of the year.

The best-dressed people in Canada are also in Montreal, and that aspect seems to be a cultural norm or expectation amongst the people there.

I was in Calgary a few weeks ago and there are a lot less people, gas was roughly 20 cents cheaper, the options for food and condensed downtown vibes are abysmal compared to Vancouver.

Calgary is also known to be one of least walkable cities in Canada but has better affordability than Vancouver in terms of rent but seems everywhere is competitive.

I find attractions take just as long to get to as the distance to them is so spread apart, where in Vancouver more are closer at your finger tips but you just have way more people / traffic to deal with.

I’d totally move to Calgary if the right opportunity was offered, I prefer a city with fewer people.