/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
City News

Toronto and Montreal declared two of the world’s most expensive cities

By John Michael McGrath
Copy link
(Image: paul (dex))
(Image: paul (dex))

Turns out the rising loonie isn’t just hurting autoworkers and lumberjacks: according to a study done by the Swiss bank UBS, Toronto and Montreal have now cracked the list of most expensive places to live, just behind New York and ahead of London.

The Toronto Star has the story:

The rising loonie, along with inflation, pushed Toronto and Montreal up the list, the report said. Auckland, Sydney, Johannesburg and Jakarta also rose through the ranks because of their rising currency.

But Toronto and Montreal are further down the ladder, sitting at 13 and 16, respectively, when it comes to wages.

“Those interested in high wages should still consider moving to Zurich, Copenhagen or Geneva,” the report noted.

Before storming to the nearest bookstore and emptying out the schweizerdeutsch section, take a second and ask how much this study is actually showing.  The Financial Post has a good fact-check on this, pointing out that basically the “expense” of living here is kind of a mirage due to the high loonie; because consumers haven’t seen prices drop as fast as the loonie has risen, the “cost” of living in Canada has gone up, even if nobody here actually noticed.

Nevertheless, if anybody in Toronto needed a reason not to move to Oslo, this could be it: paying more to live even further north than Edmonton? No thanks.

• Prices and Earning [UBS AG] • Toronto, Montreal among most expensive cities [Toronto Star] • Canadian cities among most expensive [Toronto Sun] • World’s most expensive cities — Q&A [Financial Post] • Toronto, Montreal among most costly cities [CBC News] • Living In Toronto? Get Ready To Pay The Price [CityNews] • Soaring Loonie pushes cost of living in Canadian Cities [Canadian Business Journal]

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

“I’m a Toronto man through and through”: Meet Hassan Phills, the Scarborough comedian sampled by Drake
Culture

“I’m a Toronto man through and through”: Meet Hassan Phills, the Scarborough comedian sampled by Drake

Inside the Latest Issue

The May issue of Toronto Life features the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries moving north to avoid the carnage of Trump. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.