3 Canadian Cities Rank Among World’s Best for ‘Work-Life Balance’

Look, I don’t know what kind of back-door dealings are transpiring here, but three Canadian cities were recently ranked among the best in the world for work-life balance.

This is according to a study conducted by the tech company Kisi, which compared data on work intensity, institutional support, legislation, and livability.

Despite the fact that Vancouver and Toronto rank among the world’s most unaffordable real estate markets, and Canadians are only afforded two weeks’ paid vacation per year, the cities nevertheless ranked 10th and 13th, respectively, in work-life balance. Ottawa is sandwiched between them in the 11 spot.

So, what gives? We can look to the ancient philosophy of Work Hard, Play Hard for answers. Sure, there’s often an unbearable degree of toil required to afford your condo, but there’s also plenty to take the edge off.

The study “aims to be a guideline for cities to benchmark their ability to support the fulfillment of residents’ lives by improving the aspects of life that help relieve work-related stress and intensity.” In Vancouver, that means beelining it to the ocean or mountains. In Toronto, it might entail indulging in one of the world’s best culinary scenes. Or the hope-despair cycle of being a Leafs fan. In Ottawa, residents can bask in the eventually restored balance of retirement with full benefits.

Here are the top five cities with the best work-life balance:

Conversely, the cities with the worst work-life balance are Tokyo, Singapore, Washington, Kuala Lumpur, and Houston.