Best Canadian Cities For Business (2008)
A September 2008 issue of Canadian Business Magazine published recently a survey for the best Canadian cities for business.
While most would expect western cities to do well, eastern towns and especially some of Quebec’s province seem to do better. While there are still plenty of opportunities in Western Canada, in Alberta’s oil sands or in British Columbia’s construction sector, it looks like the three cities of Quebec that top the list (Sherbrooke, Lévis and its neighbor across the river, Québec City) come surprisingly with better chances. As always, the bilingual laws of Quebec may raise some obstacles, but truth is plenty of research centres and technology parks are booming in Eastern Canada.
1. Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke is a relatively small town in the southeast of Quebec, but close to the US border. Nearly 50 research centres in biotechnology, environment and materials, are now located in Sherbrooke, but Sherbrooke still heavily depends on the manufacturing sector. The city has access to two railways, to Montreal, US and Quebec City. As everywhere in the province of Quebec, most people speak French and the language laws can be hard for uni-lingual companies. But Sherbrooke has a large bilingual workforce.
2. Lévis
The small city of Lévis is just across the bridge of Québec City, capital of the province of Quebec. Lévis is home to the Ultramar refinery, Frito-Lay and Davie shipyards. Desjardins Group has its headquarters in this city. It is slightly cheaper to live and do business in Lévis than Quebec. Lévis has also a campus of the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Innoparc is a new technology park, with which the city is trying to go high-tech. As downside, its population is relatively old.
3. Québec City
Quebec City had a 44.3% average gain in commercial building permits (second highest in the country) during the past three years. The city has about 100 research centres, focusing on life sciences, applied technology and processed materials, health and nutrition.
Here is the list of the top 10 Canadian cities determined as best for business by the survey:
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Tags: 2008, Best Cities for Business, Canada, Canadian Business Magazine, Regional Surveys, Surveys
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