These Are the 10 Best Places to Find Work in Canada

Job hunting is one of the least enviable pursuits of modern millennial life.

Between a tough job market and employers’ requests for 3+ years experience for entry-level positions, finding employment is certainly no walk in the park – unless, of course, you live in Oshawa.

BMO released their list of the best places to find work in Canada, and Oshawa took the big prize with an employment rate of 65.1 per cent and a jump of 27 places up the rankings from last year.

The Ontario city, which is the Canadian home of General Motors, has long been known as a car town. But now thanks to the low loonie, employment in Oshawa has grown by 6.9 per cent as auto exports have gone way up.

Once recognized as the “Automotive Capital of Canada,” the city of just under 150,000 people (as of 2011 population) has become a hub for education and health sciences.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology built a downtown campus back in 2010 and Oshawa now houses four post-secondary schools – some of which have connecting campuses at the University of Windsor and Queen’s University.

Despite placing 28th on the list last year, the Motor City jumped all the way to the top of the table in 2016.

BMO’s Regional Labour Market Report Card looked at city population, employment year on year, unemployment, and median wages.

Toronto was just outside the top 10 at number 11, reporting a 2.8 per cent increase in employment since last year. Meanwhile, another city just outside the GTA came in second place – Guelph.

Although Oshawa made it to the number one spot, Ontario was only the fifth best province to find work in Canada. British Columbia took the crown with the lowest jobless rate in the country.

B.C created an impressive 110,000 of Canada’s 144,000 net new jobs in the past year.

The steepest decline was Alberta, which saw 21,000 job losses as oil and loonie prices plummeted.

Here are the top ten places to find work in Canada: