The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada - 2025

 London Is Still Not Among Them
   If you are looking for London, Ontario, it is located "Halfway Between Toronto & Detroit", but again it is not found on the third list of, "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada." I was surprised the first two times, but less so this year and am not shocked that London seems to be going down in the rankings, rather then up. In 2023, London was 139; in 2024,168; and in 2025 it is the 208th "Most Livable City in Canada". This fact is not being promoted by the London Chamber of Commerce.
   The marketing folks in the Canadian cities of Mississippi Mills and Quispamsis are likely not only in their offices, but also working overtime.

  If you would prefer to peruse the data presented see:
3. "Canada's Most Livable Cities", in the Globe and Mail, on Jan. 29, 2026;
2. "Canada's Most Livable Cities", Dec. 12, 2024, and 
1. "Canada's Most Livable Cities: Explore Our Data-Driven Ranking of the Most Desirable Places to Live in the Country," Mahima Singh and Chen Wang, Globe and Mail, Nov. 25, 2023.
  If you are curious about what I wrote when I was surprised by London's poor ranking, see: "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada (London Isn't One of Them)", Dec. 8, 2023 and "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada (London Isn't Of Them (Again)", Dec. 16, 2024. Each piece has data from those years, along with the kind of commentary from me that you have come to expect. 
 

   Those are the top ten most livable cities in 2025. London is not among them. London was finally found among some of the sub-rankings, but they are all worse than they were in the other years. London's Rank:

FOR RETIREMENT - 389

FOR MIDLIFE TRANSITIONS - 301

FOR NEWCOMERS - 237

FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS - 229

FOR RAISING KIDS - 163

FOR NEWCOMERS - 237

FOR ENTREPRENEURS - 144

   On a brighter note, lets look at some places that have leapt in the right direction over the past year:

Rapid Ranking Climbers

British Columbia: Summerland

   "A new system of parks help boost ranking on community and amenities

Miles of vineyards and panoramic views of Okanagan Lake have long made the District of Summerland a hit with tourists. But the town is becoming more livable for residents too, jumping 171 spots in this year’s ranking with gains in community, safety and amenity scores.

A 40-minute drive south of Kelowna, the agricultural municipality has been investing in ways to connect its 12,500 residents across a wide stretch of rural farms, parks and trails bordering the western edge of Okanagan Lake."

New Brunswick: Quispamsis

   "New transit projects allow residents to lead healthier lives, hiking perceptions of their own wellbeing

Tucked along densely wooded river shorelines and lakeside trails on the outskirts of Saint John, this suburb climbed 84 spots in our ranking, making leaps in demographics, health and transportation."

Ontario: Mississippi Mills

   "Small grants for community projects led to strong feeling of togetherness, alongside a jump in employment

Bordering Ottawa and the banks of the Mississippi River, this rural municipality in Eastern Ontario climbed 224 spots in our ranking, reaching second place in economy and posting gains in safety and community. Centred around the historic Ward of Almonte, the region is an amalgamation of smaller communities with a nearly 150-year history rooted in agriculture, textiles and wool milling, which harness the energy of nearby waters."

Saskatchewan: Warman

   "Tax breaks for rental projects helped this fast-growing community climb in housing rankings

Less than a 20-minute drive north of Saskatoon, this bedroom community jumped more than 100 spots in our ranking, with gains in safety, demographics and transportation.

Quebec: Varennes

   "A drop in commuting times boosted the community in its ranking for transportation.

Jutting along the shore of the St Lawrence River, just across from the eastern edge of Montreal, this suburban city pulled up 103 spots in our ranking this year with gains in transportation, housing and safety."

(The source for the above: "Meet the Communities That Climbed the Farthest in our Latest Ranking of Canada’s Most Livable Cities," Mariya Postelnyak, G&M, Jan. 29, 2026.)

The Most Livable Cities By Size
  This third edition of the rankings, considers the size of the city and 454 are included. 

The categories are:

Major - 500,000 +

Large - 100,000 - 499,999 (London with 498,400 is classified as "Large.")

Mid-sized - 30,000 - 99,999

Small - 10,000 - 29,999
  The Most Livable in each category:

Major: Ottawa

Large: North Vancouver

Mid-sized: West Vancouver

Small: Pitt Meadows, B.C.

Some London Data:

  Almost 60 variables are considered "across 10 key categories relevant to people considering relocation: economy, housing, demographics, health care, safety, education, community, amenities, transportation and climate."
  When you locate London at No. 208, you can see those data for London. Some samples:

Top 5 languages spoken most often at home:

1.English

2.Arabic

3.Spanish

4.Mandarin

5.Punjabi

Top 5 visible minorities:

1.South Asian

2.Arab

3,Black

4.Latin American

5.Chinese

Average monthly food cost:

$928

Average minutes driving to work:

23

And, since we are all interested in the WEATHER, here are all the variables for:

Climate (London)

Days with Humidex over 35°C:                                                     16

Projected days with Humidex over 35°C:                                      34

Days with precipitation >= 10 mm:                                                30

Projected days with precipitation >= 10 mm:                                 32

Days with a min. temperature less than -15°C.:                            13

Projected days with a min. temperature less than -15°C.:             5

Days with a max. temperature greater than 30°C:                        13

Projected days with a max. temperature greater than 30°C:         29

Rankled By Rankings?
   My own opinion of London, as I have suggested in my earlier posts about these rankings, is not as low as London's rank. Those who commented on the G&M's "Livable City Rankings" often complained that their city should should be higher than say, Winnipeg. I don't think London is as "nice" a place as it was when I arrived over fifty years ago, but what place is? Still, I don't think London should be 200 rungs lower than Winnipeg (9)! My complaint is more about "Ranking" generally, which is mostly a mug's game. The good news is, that if something close or important to you gets a bad ranking, it is unlikely it will be called to your attention. (See, for example, The Fickleness of Rankings").

  

 Bonus:
   Given that London is not highly ranked and one cannot honestly say, "I am from London and it is  one of the top-ranked ????" , you can simply say, what this T-shirt indicates. It is available at Museum London.

The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada - 2024

London Isn't One of Them (Again)

   Last year the G&M published a ranking of the "Most Livable Cities" in Canada, to help you determine in which city you would choose to live. Given that London did not appear among the "Top 100," I figured I would call that fact to your attention. It is typically the case that if one fairs poorly in a ranking, it is best to move on to a subject that is better rated. Since you probably did not read about London's poor ranking in what is left of the local news sources, have a look at this: "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada" in MM. You will learn from it that the closest Livable City appears to be Middlesex Centre. If you would prefer to rely on the original analysis (a good idea) see: "Canada's Most Livable Cities: Explore Our Data-Driven Ranking of the Most Desirable Places to Live in the Country," Mahima Singh and Chen Wang, Globe and Mail, Nov. 25, 2023. 

The News Is Not Good (for London)
   The data have been crunched again by the same authors and the 2024 edition of "Canada's Most Livable Cities" will be found in the G&M, Dec.12. If you are headed to a convenience store for some beer, you still may be able to grab a copy if city officials didn't abscond with all of them. I will provide here, the top 10 nice big places to live in Canada.

    Last year, I did not bother to say much about London since it was not among the 100 Most Livable Cities. This year, I dug a little deeper and found London buried among the 448 communities for which a number of variables were analyzed. Unfortunately London's rankings are not good and have gotten worse. Like I said earlier, you should look at the original article, where the methodology is explained. The article, by the way, was nominated for a Digital Publishing Award, (see, G&M, April 25, 2024.)
   

   There are sub-rankings as well and the Top 20 are listed. Unfortunately London doesn't appear, but at least it does creep into the Top 100 in one category - as a place for Entrepreneurs. The bad news is that London did worse in all categories this year.

                                                      Sub-rankings

            

                                               2024    2023

Full Ranking                         168      139

For Young Professionals.   166        99

For Raising Kids.                 129      116
For Midlife Transitions         254      196

For Retirement                      306      152

For Newcomers                     213      163

For Entrepreneurs                 76        74

You should look at the original article and especially the comments. There are, for example, many who think their city deserves a higher spot than Winnipeg. 
  MM is London-based and I have lived here for many years. Although I don't think London is as "Livable" a place as it was fifty years ago, I would think that most people in most cities (even in the top 100) would say the same thing. And I still think it is likely better than say, Winnipeg.  
(Readers of MM know how I rate Toronto and you will be able to tell from these titles: Toronto the Carbuncle and Toronto the Carbuncle (Update).)

Beyond the Palewall (8)

 

Coming Soon Next to the Shawarma Shop Near You: A Private Clinic

   If you need a knee or hip replaced, you may be able to soon hobble down the street and get one, or two, or even four. Our government announced that more private options were being made available and that news was nicely conveyed by the Canadian correspondent for the New York Times: The Growing Private-Sector Involvement in Canadian Public Health Care Systems," Canada Letter, Ian Austen,

January 20, 2024.

This week, the provincial government in Ontario announced that it was expanding the number of private clinics providing medical services.

Right now, Ontario has about 900 such clinics, and they mostly offer medical imaging and cataract surgeries. Sylvia Jones, the province’s health minister, said this week that the government was expanding its program to include hip and knee replacements.

The province is being careful not to violate the Canada Health Act by requiring people to pay for medically necessary procedures. That would jeopardize the 20 billion Canadian dollars the province will receive this year from the federal government for health care. While the clinics will be privately operated, their procedures will be covered under the provincial health care plan as if they had been performed in public hospitals.

Ms. Jones said that the expansion would allow more such procedures to be performed and that doing so would cut wait times for patients. Her critics say it will further undermine the public system, that it may actually increase wait times and that it is a step toward full privatization of health care.

   You may not be able to read the NYT article, but you can read this 36 page report which has just been released: "The Scope and Nature of Private Healthcare in Canada," by Katherine Fierlbeck. It is published by the C.D. Howe Institute.
 A serious subject which I should not treat so lightly.

Boil Water Advisory in the Nation's Capital

   Not in Ottawa, but Washington. I mentioned in "Water Woes" that, soon we are all likely to  be very thirsty.  A recent headline indicated that it is true, even in D.C., where a great deal of water is needed for the scotches. In this article, one learns that even the citizens in the ritzy areas (Chevy Chase, Bethesda) were likely to experience problems. Apparently these city dwellers need advice that is much clearer than the water: “Do not drink the water without boiling it first,” the D.C. Water said in an alert issued Friday evening. (The water should be allowed to cool before drinking it.) ("Many Residents of Northern D.C. Are Asked to Boil Water," Martin Weil, Washington Post, Jan. 19, 2024.)

  Some related CANCON: A Canadian Press headline: "Long-Term Prairie Drought Raises Concerns Over Groundwater Levels," Bob Weber, Jan.20, 2024.

“The lowest water levels are all in the last seven years and the levels are much lower now than they were in the ’70s and ’80s,” Pomeroy said. “It'll be a climate signal that we’re seeing....” “It’s something we need to keep an eye on.”

Don't Bet On It

   At the end of last year, I suggested in "On Betting" that perhaps we should be as worried about the gambling situation as we are tired over watching all the ads promoting it. I did offer one source suggesting that money was being made and people are getting jobs in the gambling sector. If you think you can find better statistics related to Ontario, Don't bet on it.  
   Read, if you can, this good article: “Got Questions About Ontario’s Online Gambling Industry” Don’t Bet on Getting the Answers,” Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail, Jan. 19, 2024. He begins by noting that this gambling thing is supposed to be great and he attempts to find out how great from iGaming Ontario. He wasn't able to get much information from them, but it was easy to find out from the folks in New York and Massachusetts.

  

When Ontario announced a few years ago that it was giving the green light to online gambling, politicians made familiar promises about the scheme. It would be great for consumers. Great for the province’s tax revenue. Great for jobs, great for the local innovation economy. (They didn’t say anything about how great it might be for our blood pressure to be subjected to the ensuing flood of sportsbook ads.)

Since then, most of the talk about online gambling has focused on its downsides: the volume of ads; the disappointment in seeing heroes such as Wayne Gretzky or Auston Matthews encouraging fans to get into the betting game; the cautionary tales about addicts losing their homes, their jobs, their families, their lives.

Would the conversation be different if the government actually trusted the public enough to give them real information about the state of the industry?

For almost two years, iGaming Ontario (or iGO), which oversees online gambling in the province on behalf of the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), has followed a policy of saying as little as possible. It releases quarterly snapshots that contain a handful of data to show things are going swimmingly.

Which they might be. Who knows.

For the first year of those quarterly reports, iGO revealed almost nothing. It published the total amount of money that had been wagered, but refused to outline how much came from the different types of betting: casino, sports, or online poker. It was hardly a vote of confidence in a promising industry.

It’s finally begun breaking out those figures. Still, it evidently believes most information is like thrash metal or direct democracy: potentially dangerous if released onto an unsuspecting public. And so it withholds data that might help Ontarians grapple with the emerging place of online betting in the province.

He then made a few phone calls and it seems our southern neighbours were rather chatty.

Other jurisdictions seem to recognize the benefits in giving the public access to timely, comprehensive information....

A quick scan of the information published by Massachusetts and New York may give you some idea of the warts that Ontario might be trying to hide.

Last month, mobile sportsbooks in New York State took in US$2.04-billion in total wagers. Of that amount, the market goliath FanDuel handled US$835-million, or about 41 per cent of all wagers. DraftKings handled US$773-million (about 38 per cent), and Caesars handled US$202-million (or almost 10 per cent)....

The Massachusetts numbers for December echo the winners-take-all landscape in New York. Of US$643-million wagered on online sportsbooks, DraftKings handled US$316-million, or 49 per cent. FanDuel handled US$187-million (29 per cent). ESPN Bet, newly rebranded from Penn Sports Interactive, handled US$50-million and saw its market share jump to almost 8 per cent from 6 per cent. The other five licenced operators handled the remaining 14 per cent of the action.

All of which is to say the industry looks a little like America itself: a few fat cats at the top, with everyone else scrambling to survive.

And what does the landscape look like in Ontario, where there were an astonishing 49 licensees operating 72 gambling websites – including, by my count, 30 sports-betting operations – as of Dec. 31, 2023? Are two or three foreign juggernauts dominating an industry the government had hoped would become a central player in the province’s innovation economy, as people suspect? Are Canadian-based companies, which have much smaller marketing budgets than the global behemoths, connecting with consumers? Are they barely keeping their heads above water? Are they targets for the industry consolidation that so many observers believe is inevitable? Will the jobs that the province trumpeted as a major reason to greenlight gambling never materialize, or evaporate? Will online gambling be yet another branch-plant economy of foreign giants?

The questions were not answered.

Toronto the Carbuncle (Update)

Toronto the "Gridlocked Carcass"

   Almost five years ago, I wrote a post with the title at the top. Whenever I chance upon it, I think it a bit harsh. Perhaps not. A better one would be "Toronto the CARbuncle." There is an article in the Globe and Mail today, with the following title, and you should read it: "If Toronto Can't Improve its World-Class Traffic, It Will Decay Into a Gridlocked Carcass," by Andrew Clark. At least Toronto is "world-class" in something.

   Here is the interesting part:

   TomTom, provider of GPS-based navigation systems, analyzed data from more than 600 million in-car navigation systems and smartphones to identify trends in 387 cities across 55 countries throughout 2023.

   TomTom found that Toronto had the third-worst traffic in the world – not in Canada, not in North America, in the world. Only London and Dublin ranked higher. Think of a city with legendarily bad traffic. They all ranked lower (better) than Toronto. Los Angeles (233); New York (20); New Delhi (44); Vancouver (32). It took the average Toronto driver 29 minutes to travel 10 kilometres. Top runners can cover this distance faster. The pace would also be considered slow for most cyclists on a road bike. Drivers in Toronto spent 255 hours a year driving (98 of those caused by congestion). TomTom also offers real-time traffic analysis. As I write this, the average speed in Toronto is 16 kilometres an hour and there are 387 reported traffic jams spanning 371 kilometres.

   There are also other interesting comments. Mr. Clark notes that the transit problem is being ignored while "the mayor and the media squabble about a patch of pavement that is an embarrassing tribute to ugliness."  He solves that problem for them by suggesting new names for Dundas Square, one of which is "William Hogarth Presents". For those who like illustrations, more than words, a link is provided. 

   In the article, this question is raised: "Why should anyone outside Toronto care if no one in the city cares enough to do anything about it?" (The congestion, not "Dundas," who very few, even in Toronto, care about.) The answer to that question is found in "Toronto the Carbuncle."  Those of us who live far outside of Toronto, in either direction, care simply because it stands in the way of those of us who are trying to get somewhere nicer. The only other reason used to be because we were trying to get to Pearson to go somewhere nicer, but no one wants to go there now and not just because of the traffic.

Source: 
  Apart from the article and my post which indicated congestion was a problem at the beginning of this century, see the : TOMTOM Traffic Index.

Beyond the Palewall (7)

["Beyond the Palewall" is the title of this series because "Beyond the Paywall' is taken. Information for which you are not willing to pay, along with information you may not wish to know, is presented in abbreviated form without charge. What has caught my eye may sometimes feel like a poke in yours and, in that sense, be beyond the pale. Items will appear weekly, or perhaps monthly, or maybe semi-annually, if I can get started and the weather is bleak.]

   Another dreary day as we begin the new year and I have been reading rather than writing. This means I will be copying again rather than creating, but the result for you is higher quality content. The first of the two items relates to the "culture wars", so you may wish to skip to the second which is about Northern Ontario. A slight warning, however, there are also skirmishes up there. 

1. Day of Epiphany
   A note appeared at the top of my screen informing me that today is such a day and when I read two stories about the same subject, I thought that some might be having one, an epiphany, that is. The articles are about the situation at Harvard and the departure of the president, Claudine Gay. The one in the Globe & Mail by Adrian Morrow offers a basic overview and this quotation which suggests the squabble is about larger issues:

“This really isn’t about plagiarism and antisemitism – although those issues are real and they are serious – what’s really going on is a conversation about race and diversity and anger on the right wing against the direction that elite universities have taken,” said Derek Penslar, a history professor and director of Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies.

Later, one of the consequences of the dispute is noted:

"Billionaire donors held back their contributions. Chief among them was Bill Ackman, who alleged Dr. Gay got her job because of her race. Mr. Ackman and other opponents of DEI said Dr. Gay’s publication record of 11 articles in two decades was too thin for the job she held."

   The article in the National Post, is much longer (two full pages) and it is authored by the Mr. Ackman quoted right above. The large issue to him is DEI and one might conclude from it that perhaps we are witnessing a "Christine Gay Moment", somewhat like the "George Floyd" one. Here is a small portion of what he wrote:

"I came to learn that the root cause of antisemitism at Harvard was an ideology that had been promulgated on campus, an oppressor/oppressed framework, that provided the intellectual bulwark behind the protests, helping to generate anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate speech and harassment.

Then I did more research. The more I learned, the more concerned I became, and the more ignorant I realized I had been about DEI, a powerful movement that has not only pervaded Harvard, but the educational system at large. I came to understand that diversity, equity and inclusion was not what I had naively thought these words meant.

I have always believed that diversity is an important feature of a successful organization, but by diversity I mean diversity in its broadest form: diversity of viewpoints, politics, ethnicity, race, age, religion, experience, socioeconomic background, sexual identity, gender, one’s upbringing and more.

What I learned, however, was that DEI was not about diversity in its purest form, but rather DEI was a political advocacy movement on behalf of certain groups that are deemed oppressed under DEI’s own methodology."

He is a Harvard guy, by the way, and here is his answer to the question he raised, "What should happen?" His answer, in addition to Gay, all members of the Harvard board should also resign.

"The ODEIB should be shut down, and the staff should be terminated. The ODEIB has already taken down much of the ideology and strategies that were on its website when I and others raised concerns about how the office operates and who it does and does not represent. Taking down portions of the website does not address the fundamentally flawed and racist ideology of this office, and calls into further question the ODEIB’s legitimacy. [Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.]

   Some Canadian readers may be experiencing an "Epiphany Moment" after reading that. Although "DEI" is still being nurtured here and HR departments expanded, the enthusiasm south of here has been replaced by outrage and DEI departments are being dismantled. The Chronicle of Higher Education even created a tool to keep a record of state legislative efforts to restrict or shut down DEI programs and there are many of them. Last month, a legislative proposal was introduced in the House "that would strip colleges of federal funding if they require employees, students or applicants to write diversity, equity and inclusion statements." (At some universities, faculty members and job candidates are required to write diversity statements as part of the promotion or hiring process.)

  Perhaps the most important part of that article is the link to another Ivy League university, the University of Pennsylvania, whose president also was forced to resign. The link is to, "A Vision For a New Future of the University of Pennsylvania", which is a proposed new constitution for that university and it is supported by over 1,700 university faculty. If you go through the list, you will see some names from Canadian universities.

   If one assumes that the fervour in favour of DEI initiatives at Canadian universities subsides and student protests continue, those on the northern campuses might benefit from having a look at Penn's "A Vision For a New Future...". As well, a document written almost 60 years ago at the University of Chicago, "The Kalven Report", is useful. In both, to put it simply, it is suggested that the universities remain neutral and speech free. If you borrow from them, do so carefully. 

2. Ring of Fire
  I will now have to keep this short. If the phrase above rings a bell, it probably was in relationship to a Johnny Cash song, not the area well north of Thunder Bay. That Ring encircles a lot of minerals, the extraction of which is, or may, be problematic. Perhaps not for the Ontario government which "has thrown its weight behind the Ring of Fire, and has committed to paying roughly half of the at least $2-billion that is needed to fund the roads. Premier Doug Ford has even said that he’s willing to “jump on a bulldozer,” if that’s what it will take to get construction underway." There are other Nations up that way, however, and "One big concern raised by environmentalists about development in the Ring of Fire is that pollution may destroy fish habitats in the rivers around Marten Falls, and disturb carbon-storing peat that is ubiquitous in this part of northern Ontario." An added complication: although it was remembered this time to consult with the Nations up there, they disagree about whether the resources should be developed or the Ring of Fire extinguished. All of this information should be read as it originally appears in:
"In Remote Ontario, Marten Falls First Nation Hopes to Move Past More Than 100 Years of Subjugation, As It Opens the Doorr to Critical Minerals Development and an All-Season Road That Will Change Their LIves," Niall McGee, G&M, Dec. 31, 2023. [Some of those among the Neskantaga Nation, don't agree.]

A portion of boreal forest in northern Quebec

   Here is another piece which should be read with the one above. While one often sees articles against old-growth logging out west, those about tree removal north of us are rarer. Now a study from down-under has raised some issues. This article is based on that study:

   "Canada’s Logging Industry Devours Forests Crucial to Fighting Climate Change: A study finds that logging has inflicted severe damage to the vast boreal forests in Ontario and Quebec, two of the country’s main commercial logging regions," Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai, New York Times, Jan. 4, 2024.

"Canada has long promoted itself globally as a model for protecting one of the country’s most vital natural resources: the world’s largest swath of boreal forest, which is crucial to fighting climate change.

But a new study using nearly half a century of data from the provinces of Ontario and Quebec — two of the country’s main commercial logging regions — reveals that harvesting trees has inflicted severe damage on the boreal forest that will be difficult to reverse.

Researchers led by a group from Griffith University in Australia found that since 1976 logging in the two provinces has caused the removal of 35.4 million acres of boreal forest, an area roughly the size of New York State.

While nearly 56 million acres of well-established trees at least a century old remain in the region, logging has shattered this forest, leaving behind a patchwork of isolated stands of trees that has created a landscape less able to support wildlife, according to the study. And it has made the land more susceptible to wildfire, scientists say."

The Study:

   "Assessing the Cumulative Impacts of Forest Management on Forest Age Structure Development and Woodland Caribou Habitat in Boreal Landscapes: A Case Study from Two Canadian Provinces," Brendan Mackey et al.

Land 2024, 13(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010006.

The Bonus:

For information about Canada's "Maple League Universities."

For a Canadian example of perhaps over zealous DEI training.

The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada

London Isn't One of Them 
   In late November, The Globe and Mail produced a ranking related to "Canada's Most Livable Cities." Among the cities deemed to be desirable places to live, London is not found. One of the rules about rankings is that if one is not mentioned, or does poorly, it is best not to call attention to it. I have not read anything in the local press about the "100 Most Livable Cities," but that makes sense since London is not one of them and it is better not to call our attention to the fact that London is a less desirable place to reside than Winnipeg. Far less, since Winnipeg is No.3 and London, as I mentioned, is not on the list.
   Those cities which did show up on the list have been busy bragging about it. Since news about the great cities in which to live is scarce hereabouts, I will call your attention to the accolades from elsewhere. 

Middlesex Centre

   Here is part of the puffery from close by:

"Middlesex Centre, Ontario, November 27, 2023 – The Municipality of Middlesex Centre has been named one of Canada’s Most Livable Cities for 2023 by The Globe and Mail.

Coming in at number 89 out of the 439 cities included, Middlesex Centre was the only community in the London-Middlesex area to rank in the top 100.

“We are thrilled to be recognized among Canada’s most livable cities,” says Mayor Aina DeViet. “As residents, we know that Middlesex Centre is a wonderful place to call home, and I’m proud that we are being acknowledged alongside so many beautiful areas of the country.”

The Globe and Mail considered 43 variables in 10 categories when developing the rankings. The categories – economy, housing, demographics, health care, safety, education, community, amenities, transportation and climate – were selected as they reflect what people consider important when relocating to a new community. 

Middlesex Centre ranked in the top 30 cities across the country for community, economy, and education."

   If, like me, you did not realize there were 100 cities in Canada (let alone, 'livable' ones) you may be wondering what a 'city' is. According to the G&M, there are over 8,000 of them and data were collected from the 439 Canadian cities with a population of over 10,000. London is 139.

Lambton Shores

   How Lambton did you will see from this graphic:

Where Lambton is located you will learn from this map:

Burlington

   Here is the bragging from Burlington: 

"We already knew this, and  now the rest of Canada does too: Burlington is the top livable city in Ontario, and ranks fifth in Canada, according to a new study published by the Globe and Mail."

   They helpfully list the other nice places to live in Ontario. London is not mentioned:

Ottawa, 24

Pickering, 26.                                          

Oakville, 29

Vaughan, 33

Hamilton, 39

Guelph, 41

Tecumseh, 47

Lincoln, 48

Markham, 50

Norwich, 54

Wellesley, 55

Waterloo, 56

Woolwich, 59

Toronto, 64

Mapleton, 70

Centre Wellington, 76

Whitchurch-Stouffville, 79

North Perth, 81

Newmarket, 83

Whitby, 85

Kingston, 86

Middlesex Centre, 89

King, 90

LaSalle, 92

Lambton Shores, 93

Niagara Falls, 99

Halton Hills, 100

Victoria

   I have saved for the bottom, the top livable city in Canada and it pointed out how careful the G&M was in undertaking such an assessment:

"Victoria has clinched the coveted title of the most livable city in Canada, according to a comprehensive ranking conducted by The Globe and Mail.

Other Vancouver Island communities also garnered notable recognition for the nation’s top 100, proving that it wasn’t solely the capital city making waves in the rankings.

In a meticulous evaluation encompassing 439 cities nationwide, The Globe and Mail scrutinized various criteria ranging from economy, housing, and healthcare to education and climate."

The cities on a rainy island did well:

1. Victoria

7. Saanich

10. Oak Bay

25. Colwood

32. Parksville

40. Central Saanich

63. Nanaimo

78. Sidney

   Although such city rankings are typically not noted by those cities which did poorly in them, or were not even mentioned, they do attract the attention of those looking for a desirable place to live. This is from India:

"The 20 Best Liveable Cities For Newbie In Canada," by Aryan Adarsh, Dec.7, 2023:

Victoria, British Columbia 

Winnipeg, Manitoba

North Vancouver, British Columbia 

Saanich, British Columbia 

Wellesley, Ontario 

Burlington, Ontario 

Regina, Saskatchewan 

Delta, British Columbia 

Maple Ridge, British Columbia 

West Vancouver, British Columbia 

Oak Bay, British Columbia 

Abbotsford, British Columbia 

Colwood, British Columbia 

Norwich, Ontario

Parksville, British Columbia 

Fort St. John, British Columbia 

Port Coquitlam, British Columbia 

Middlesex Centre, Ontario 

Coldstream, British Columbia 

The Source: "Canada's Most Livable Cities," Mahima Singh & Chen Wang, The Globe and Mail, Nov. 25, 2023.

The Bonus:

   Those of you who are curious about other livable cities around the world should see the Economist, which published (with a slightly different spelling), "The World's Most Liveable Cities," on June 21, 2023. Here is a bit from it and there are a couple of Canadian cities listed, but not London. 

A Gathering of Kestertons

   I just indicated in my last post, which was my first one in a while, that I have had trouble producing one every day. If I had any readers and they showed up daily they would be disappointed that the blog remained unchanged and soon would stop coming.  I thought that perhaps what I could do to attract an audience of loyal, returning readers is grab short, catchy, bizarre, humorous, happy, or sad items and post them while I worked on creating something original.  When I did so, I would group them under the clever title of,  "A Gathering of Kestertons" so readers would know what to expect and anticipate that the content would be more enjoyable and interesting than something manufactured by the usual author of Mulcahy's Miscellany.

Michael Kesterton and "Social Studies"

   "Gathering" is the collective noun I chose and you know all about them because you have read "A Murder of Crows." "Kesterton" you may not immediately recognize, but if I mention the Globe and Mail column, "Social Studies: A Daily Miscellany of Information", you may recall that he was the compiler of it. It was the first page of the paper which most of us turned to during the period from 1990 to 2013. Short facts, figures and tidbits were offered along with a "Thought du jour." Surely a similar approach by me would lead to a consistent increase in the imaginary Ipsos blogging ratings. 

   After writing all of that, I have decided against proceeding with this project and the first "Gathering of Kestertons", will be the last.  Although Mr. Kesterton is deceased, I now realize it is  inappropriate of me to associate his name with MM, since he would gain little and such an association could actually sully his reputation. As well, it is unfair because Mr. Kesterton would have had to do far more work for most of the period during which he gathered material. Work involving things like reference books, trips to the library and reading extensively, none of which one needs now to do. The Internet has made gathering much easier and the market is already crowded with publications offering listicles and trivia stolen from other publications. Plus, it is so easy I would be inclined to slack off and offer only the material of others and never do any heavy lifting myself.  But, before I go, I might as well say a little more about Mr. Kesterton and his "Social Studies," and provide a few of his examples and, perhaps a some of the ones I would have offered had I proceeded with "A Gathering of Kestertons."

   Mr. Kesterton passed away late in 2018 and Elizabeth Renzetti of the G&M notes that: 
"Mr. Kesterton, who died on Dec. 5 at the age of 72, was the shy, quick-witted writer behind one of The Globe and Mail’s most popular features. By the time Social Studies ended on Canada Day, 2013, Mr. Kesterton had compiled more than three kilometres of arcana, world history, scientific breakthroughs, anniversaries and odd news, such as the time Sophia Loren apprehended a handbag thief."

   The first "Social Studies" I have found is from July 4, 1990 and the items in it are topical ones even for our times. Under the subject of "Waste", figures are given for how much of it is being sent by us to countries in the Third World and how much more Toronto wants to have taken by truck into the third world hinterlands elsewhere in the province. Texans back then were thinking just like Texans now. Under the title "Texas Chainsaw Reasoning" a regulatory official did not think it terribly important to control the sale of the toxic chemical chlordane: "Sure, it's going to kill a lot of people. But they may be dying of something else anyway." Many interesting facts are provided and the tabloids can always be counted upon for attention-grabbing headlines: "Dog Lands Plane After Pilot Has Heart Attack" and "Strange Cult Worships Studebakers.'

   The last "Social Studies" is found on July 1, 2013 and among the facts included are some about the column. It began on June 12, 1990 and "Social Studies" was only to be a temporary title. The difference between "Geeks" and "Nerds" is explained and the last "Thought du jour" was thought by Sir Wilfred Laurier and it still has some relevance for our time - "Canada is free and freedom is nationality."

   I have offered snippets, quotes of the day, headlines of the week, factlets and even the odd apercu, when I didn't have much myself to say and I will likely keep doing so, but I won't gather them under the name of the late Mr. Kesterton.  Here are a few for now.

Funny Quotes: 

P.J. O'Rourke just died and left us some humorous ones: On leaving Maoism behind:
“But I couldn’t stay a Maoist forever,” he wrote. “I got too fat to wear bell-bottoms. And I realized that communism meant giving my golf clubs to a family in Zaire.”
About the difference between "Democrats' and "Republicans" - “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer and remove the crab grass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then get elected and prove it.”

Funny Names:

There were many in the old Wild West and Bret Harte says nicknames were the beginning of a "rude heraldry." Here are some: Antelope Jack; Albuquerque Alice; Hog-Eyed Nellie; Gunny Sack Bill; Pie Biter Baker; Cemetery Sam; Peckerwood Pete; Catacorners Ketchum, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody. Bartholomew Masterson, thought it wise to change his name to "Bat." He was born in Quebec and if you read the Wikipedia entry for him you will see that he was a very interesting character. For more nicknames: "Trailing the Alias," Waldo Koop, The American West, Jan./Feb. 1977.

Sad Place Names: 

Point No Point, Washington; Dismal, North Carolina; Cape Disappointment, Washington; Little Hope, Texas; Boring, Maryland; Misery Bay, Michigan; Tombstone, Arizona; Dead Horse Bay, New York; Murder Island, Nova Scotia. "14 of the Most Depressing Place Names in North America," Bess Lovejoy, Mental Floss, May 11, 2015.

On Somnambulism:

This story was reported by CP back in July, 1979: (Barrie)- "A man wearing only a pyjama top was found walking along a highway early Wednesday about five kilometres from the motel where he was staying. Provincial police, who picked up the man after a call from a person who found him, said he was sleep-walking. The man was in good shape except for sore feet, police said. They did not identify the man, but said he was from the London-Windsor area." 

On Statues:

Many are now being torn down and in this Reuters story from 1989 we can learn how to profit from such destruction:
"Budapest: Right Hand Man: A museum here had paid 500 (pounds) for the right hand of Stalin which was part of the huge Stalin monument toppled in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It was sold by the widow of a rector who had it in his Budapest garden as a decoration.
  The Stalin statue, which was 28 metres high, was torn down during the night of 23 October 1965. The fragments were collected as souvenirs. The museum intends to show the right hand in an exhibition next year on the epoch of Hungarian Stalinism."

The Price for a Tongass Tree:

A 180 foot tall Sitka spruce is standing (for now) in the Tongass National Forest where it has been standing for a long time. Here is what it is likely to be worth:
"Even when the top and branches are lopped off, a tree this size would yield at least 6,000 board feet of lumber, said industry consultant Catherine Mater, who assessed the spruce’s potential market value for The Washington Post. It would fetch around $17,500 on the open market."

Another Murder of Crows:     

Mentioned above and written about before, the murder of crows in Burnaby has a rival murder far to the south in Sunnyvale, California. See for proof: "A California City Overrun With Crows Turns to Lasers and a Boombox to Scare Them Away: City employees will spend an hour every night shining green lasers and playing corvid distress calls to humanely harass the birds into leaving, Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, Jan. 20, 2022. And: "A California City Is Overrun by Crows. Could a Laser Be the Answer? In a move befitting its Silicon Valley setting, the city of Sunnyvale, Calif., will aim a laser at 1,000 birds that have overwhelmed the downtown area during the pandemic," Alyssa Lukpat, NYT, Jan. 17, 2022