TORONTO // After graduating from universities in Halifax and Ottawa, in 2006 Daniela Roberts, a translator and editor, moved to Montreal, Canada's second-largest city, because it boasted efficient public transport, ethnic and linguistic diversity, good food and myriad entertainment.
These attributes were supplemented by a reasonable cost of living, Ms Roberts said.
"On a very mediocre salary right out of university, I was somehow able to afford the excitement of living in downtown Montreal in the midst of all the action."
Yet her love for Montreal is at odds with the results of a May survey published by MoneySense magazine, which ranked Canada's two most populous cities nearer the bottom of its list of most liveable.
The magazine's rankings of the best places to live in Canada placed Montreal 100th out of 154 urban areas, below Medicine Hat, Alberta, but above Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, two small prairie cities.
To create the rankings, editors used 24 criteria divided into four major categories: prosperity, affordable housing, weather and lifestyle issues.
"This is not a matter of I or one of the other editors walking into a town and saying, 'Boy, I'd like to live here'," said Rob Gerlsbeck, MoneySense's features editor. "We're not taking a subjective approach."
The survey's objective is to examine what aspects of a Canadian city would probably matter most to someone who is thinking of moving within the country. According to these metrics, the city of Montreal is a weak performer.
MoneySense's survey notes that housing prices are high, as is the unemployment rate, while average household income and discretionary income -what is available after housing, transportation and taxes - are very low.
But Jeremy Morris, a doctoral student at Montreal's McGill University and an editor of the Midnight Poutine blog, doubted the efficacy of the survey.
It is not that the criteria used are not indicative, he said, only that they provide a fraction of the bigger picture and miss the less quantifiable aspects of a city.
"I don't mind that people do these things," Mr Morris said. "I just mind that they try and pass it off as something more objective."
He pointed out that MoneySense's survey contained subjective elements in how it weighed its criteria.
In the magazine's survey, the unemployment rate, the average house price and time to buy are given much more weight than public transit use or "buzz".
"The things that are interesting about Montreal are things that I don't know how you'd ever put on an Excel flow chart," Mr Morris said.
Torontonians may be forgiven for thinking the same about their city, which is Canada's largest.
Its ranking of 79th on the survey is below such minor cities as Red Deer, Alberta and Swift Current, Saskatchewan and is bound to baffle at least a few people among its 2.6 million residents.
Certainly, the magazine's staff, most of whom live in Toronto, are not planning to abandon their homes for the better life in Swift Current, population 16,000.
"Toronto offers lots of opportunity, safe streets and a high standard of living, which is why people come here despite the perception that it's expensive," said Carol Wilding, president and chief executive of the Toronto Board of Trade.
An April study published by the Board of Trade ranked Toronto fourth out of 21 cities of similar size and stature, including London, Montreal, New York, Paris and Shanghai.
According to Ms Wilding, the Board found the opposite to be true in their own measurements of Toronto's economy and labour attractiveness. It found that housing is affordable in Toronto and the air is clean.
Ms Wilding urged co-operation between federal, provincial and local governments to address the issues facing all of Canada's big cities.
But for Ms Roberts, the recent graduate, magazine surveys and hopes for co-operation and economic growth are mostly irrelevant.
Like many Montrealers, her love of the city is informed by the intangible, but no less real, factors that make her city great.
"I choose to live in Montreal," she said, "because it offers everything I could ask for in a city and then some."
blambert@thenational.ae
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
DUNE%3A%20PART%20TWO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Denis%20Villeneuve%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Timothee%20Chamalet%2C%20Zendaya%2C%20Austin%20Butler%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
