Vancouver slides in rankings, while Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary also evaluated in survey
Mercer's recently released 2023 Cost of Living Survey reveals that Canadian cities remain appealing to retirees, despite the increasing expenses.
While Toronto retains its title as the most expensive city in the country, dropping one spot to 90th globally, other Canadian cities also ranked high in terms of cost of living.
Vancouver, the second most expensive city in Canada, slid eight places to 116th. Montreal secured the 135th position, closely followed by Ottawa at 137th.
Calgary emerged as the least expensive city among the five Canadian cities surveyed, ranking 145th worldwide.
Although domestic inflationary pressures have affected the overall quality of living, Canada continues to be an attractive retirement destination.
The survey's results indicate that Canadian cities are relatively more affordable compared to their North American counterparts. While all cities experienced modest drops in their rankings since the last survey, the cost of living in US cities has increased significantly.
"Through the Cost of Living Survey, we see that despite domestic inflationary pressures that are affecting overall quality of living, Canada continues to be an attractive destination for remote workers," said Nicole Stewart, principal of career at Mercer Canada. "Extensive remote work flexibility is causing many employees to re-shift their priorities and think differently about where they want to work and live, and this will continue to force organizations to develop effective compensation strategies for their globally distributed workforces."
Yvonne Traber, partner and global head of the mobility business at Mercer, emphasized the need for employers to reassess workforce management strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, political tensions, and the cost of living crisis.
"The recent global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and political tensions, have accelerated the widespread adoption of remote work," said Traber.
