BC Business
Mercer 2017 survey ranks global costs for expatriates
Just when you thought it almost impossible to buy a single-family home in Metro Vancouver comes news that this West Coast gem has now eclipsed Toronto as Canada’s most expensive city for expats, largely due to rapidly increasing rental costs.
Vancouver made its meteoric rise to the top of the list as it jumped 35 place points from where it ranked in 2016.
Vancouver is 107th on the list. Toronto is at 119 and Montreal at 129. Ottawa is ranked as Canada’s least expensive city at 152. Vancouver still trails American cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago—and is well below the most expensive, Luanda, Angola. The second-most-expensive city is Hong Kong, and third is Tokyo.
The consulting company Mercer on Wednesday released its 2017 Cost of Living Survey, which looks at multinational organizations and the global expat staff to determine which cities are the most expensive.
“Although the cost of living in Vancouver or Toronto may be high for locals, both cities remain attractive destinations for expatriates placed by organizations outside the country,” says Gordon Frost of Mercer Canada’s career business sector. “Global costs give us some perspective: compared to the rest of the world, even with a strong dollar, Canada remains relatively affordable.”