Here's where Ottawa ranks on the list of the world's best cities

A Canadian flag is pictured with the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, April 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ottawa is one of five Canadian cities to crack a new list of the top 100 cities in the world.

The nation's capital placed 96th on the annual rankings by Resonance Consultancy, in between 95th-place Stuttgart, Germany and 97th-ranked Hanoi, Vietnam.

"I have to say that I'm pleased, but I'm definitely not surprised," said Catherine Callary, vice-president, destination development at Ottawa Tourism. "Obviously we scored very high on some key elements that set us apart from other cities in the world."

The rankings are based on six metrics—place, product, programming, people, prosperity and promotion—with sub-categories for each.

Toronto leads the way among Canadian cities at 24th. Montreal placed 57th, Calgary 65th and Vancouver 69th. Overall, London, U.K. placed first.

Ottawa scored particularly high in the 'people' and 'prosperity' categories, spurred on by its highly educated population, low unemployment rate, global GDP per capita and relatively low cost of living.

"Canada's capital has long lived in the shadow of its exciting big-city siblings, Toronto and Montreal," the rankings said. "But a national 150th birthday in 2017 brought attention to the citizens of a city where one in four is an immigrant.

"Ottawans are uncommonly intelligent."

Callary said Ottawa's high concentration of residents with post-secondary degrees has been a selling feature for the city's economic development.

"Often when you think about destination marketing and management, our most valuable asset is our people," she said. "Having real strengths in the people category, that's something that Ottawans can be really proud of."

Callary also noted Ottawa did well in the programming categories, which draws rankings from TripAdvisor reviews.

"We have really top-notch restaurants in this city, and you can see how something like that would figure into the rankings," she said.

"We know that increasingly Ottawans are really proud of our city and that we're proud of the beauty of the city and the amenities," she added. "That raises the profile of our destination globally, and that also figures in these rankings."

The rankings also make special mention of Indigenous reconciliation efforts in the capital region. The year-old Mādahòkì Farm in the west end gets special mention—it's an agritourism venture where Indigenous communities can connect with the land through healing and wellness programs and social enterprise.

Resonance Consultancy call themselves the world's leading advisors in real estate, tourism and economic development.