New Canadian Monopoly unveiled, Toronto relegated to light blue

Toronto real estate may be red hot, but in the fictitious marketplace of the classic board game Monopoly, Toronto is about as valuable as a four-bedroom house next to a GM factory in Detroit. The new Canadian edition of Monopoly (on sale June 28) was unveiled this morning, and Toronto’s place on the board is in the lowly light blues, the home of Vermont Avenue in the original version. 

The coveted Boardwalk spot went to Chatham-Kent, a farm town you’ve probably never heard of in southwestern Ontario. We’ve got ourselves to thank for this—the positions were decided in an on-line vote by more than one million people. Park Place went to Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, population 87,000. Apparently the voters weren’t from urban areas, since Vancouver and Ottawa were also banished to the light blues; Montreal only made it to orange; and Halifax didn’t even make it onto the board. There is, however, one Toronto asset on the board: Pearson Airport—one thing Canadians value in this city is where they can get out of it and fly home.