As a natural result of inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and hybrid labor, Montreal moved from 129th to 125th in Mercer’s annual ranking of the world’s most expensive cities.
Toronto is the most expensive city in the country according to this survey and ranks 89th, or 36 places ahead of Montreal. The Queen’s City is followed by Vancouver, which is ranked 108th.
France Press agency
Behind Montreal (125) are the cities of Ottawa and Calgary, which are ranked 132 and 141 respectively. Calgary is also the least expensive city to live in Canada.
The results of the survey indicate that “fluctuations in inflation and exchange rates have a direct impact on the income and savings of mobile workers.”
In addition, the emergence of telecommuting or hybrid work has caused many employees to reconsider their priorities, work-life balance, and where to live. These factors have had consequences for employers, who have to rethink the way they manage their workforce.
“In a highly inflationary environment where organizations and employees benefit from increased flexibility with respect to where they work, employers will need to ensure they have effective talent management and compensation strategies that adapt to reality to address the living costs of mobile workers,” said Nicole Stewart, Mercer Canada’s senior career counsel. .
New York remains the most expensive city in North America (7th place). Hong Kong ranks first on the platform of the most expensive cities, ahead of four Swiss cities (Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern).
Although revealing the rankings may be a bad omen for some cities, their positions may attract “talents”.
«[…] The cost of living in certain cities can have a significant impact on the interest they generate as a talent destination. The cost of living can also influence site selection decisions for organizations that wish to expand and transform their geographic footprint.
The Mercer survey was conducted in March 2022. Exchange rates were evaluated in relation to the US dollar and New York City was used as the ‘reference city’.
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