TORONTO — Canada is a welcoming destination for foreign investors, according to the annual Cities of the Future lists published by fDi Magazine.
Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are among the Top 10 Overall North American Cities of the Future.
Toronto is No. 2 behind New York City and is followed by Montreal and Vancouver. Calgary is No. 10.
On the list of Overall Large American Cities of the Future, Vancouver and Calgary take the top two spots while Ottawa and Edmonton rank fourth and fifth respectively.
The lists rank the most promising destinations around the world for inward investment — also known as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) — in six categories.
Canadian cities “performed particularly well in the attraction of knowledge-intensive FDI,” according to the magazine.
Toronto is the only Canadian city on the list of Cities With the Most Economic Potential, ranking No. 4 behind Sao Paulo, New York and San Francisco. The magazine said Toronto’s FDI was up 40 per cent in 2012.
Toronto and Montreal are second and third respectively on the list of Major American Cities of the Future for business friendliness, behind New York.
The publication explained: “A sound financial system, relatively low corporation tax rates and an open and affluent economy have resulted in Canadian cities dominating the category for business friendliness across all city sizes.”
Montreal sits at the top of the list for FDI strategy — beating out 126 competitors — followed by Toronto.
“Greater Montréal’s outstanding performance shows just how attractive our region is thanks to the vitality of its high-tech sectors, its excellent universities and research centres, and its highly skilled, talented and bilingual workforce,” said Jacques St-laurent, president and CEO of Montreal International, in a release. “We are extremely pleased and proud that the quality of our FDI strategy was recognized by such a prestigious publication.”
For FDI strategy, Ottawa tops the list of Large Cities and Hamilton was No. 1 among Mid-Sized Cities.
In the Mid-Sized American Cities of the Future category, Canada dominates with Mississauga, London, Hamilton and Quebec City taking the top four spots and Surrey, B.C. and Brampton, Ont. earning seventh and eighth respectively.
fDi Magazine ranks Victoria first for Small American Cities of the Future, followed by Richmond, B.C. in third place, Richmond Hill, Ont. in fifth place, St. John’s, NL in ninth and Sherbrooke, Quebec in 10th place.
Fredericton, NB earned top spot on the list of Micro American Cities of the Future, followed by Pickering, Ont. in fourth place, Kamloops, B.C. in fifth and Waterloo, Ont. in sixth.
The American Cities of the Future 2013/14 lists are compiled using data collected for 422 cities under six categories: Economic Potential, Human Resources, Cost Effectiveness, Infrastructure and Business Friendliness and FDI Strategy.
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