The 10 friendliest cities in all of Canada

[niwell]

I'm not sure I'd say Canadians are unfriendly, but we tend to be quite reserved. Most other places in the world - including our neighbours to the south - are far more outgoing. Maybe certain places like Germany make us seem a bit more outgoing.

Although from what I've gathered the east coast, and particularly Newfoundland are outliers.

[flar]

Anywhere in the Atlantic region, friendliest hands down.

And where's Hamilton? It's probably the only place in Ontario that I would say is friendly (as long as you don't go around in a suit and tie).

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by flar

Anywhere in the Atlantic region, friendliest hands down.

And where's Hamilton? It's probably the only place in Ontario that I would say is friendly (as long as you don't go around in a suit and tie).

I've always thought of K-W as a friendlier than average community.

[Tarsus]

Not that the thread wasn't flawed to begin with, but really guys?? Posts like these are precisely why everything in the Canada section quickly go south. Not even a full page in and already we have an asshat post asking for an answer that can only cause city vs city responses, and an asshat response immediately after .

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I'd like to see Conde Nast's (Nasty's?) top 10 list of the most boorish/braggadocious cities in Canada.

Originally Posted by mistercorporate

1. North Okotoks
2. West Okotoks
3. Downtown Okotoks
4. East Okotoks
5. Calgary
6. Regina
7. South Okotoks
8. Uptown Okotoks
9. Ghetto Okotoks
10. Fort McMurray

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Canada is a large place and I certainly haven't been everywhere. Generally, I find us like trained puppy dogs. We tolerant others, are politically correct and, automatically stand to one side. I don't particularly associate that with friendliness. Self interests weigh heavy on acts of friendliness. We definitely are not outgoing people including French Canada.

Canadians tend to conflate politeness and tolerance with friendliness and even niceness. But they are not the same things.

I do find people in French Canada somewhat less polite but OTOH more outgoing and talkative than people in English Canada.

Much of Atlantic Canada seems to naturally have the double-whammy of politeness and friendliness-approachability.

[905er]

Calgary…hands down friendliest. imo

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I've always thought of K-W as a friendlier than average community.

Are you comparing it to Ottawa, where you once lived? I've heard from many people that Ottawa is quite stuffy and uber-reserved in the Canadian manner compared to even just southern Ontario (never mind the Maritimes, etc.). And I have to say that I really got that impression the few times I've been there.

Since we're comparing cities (how could we not be?), and I have a fairly extensive acquaintance with both Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton, I'd say that I certainly wouldn't characterize K-W as friendly. Rather, it's mostly nondescript. Neither here nor there. You don't really get a strong impression of anything, save maybe for in Waterloo, where you do get a sense that you're in "Silicon Valley Lite."

Hamilton, on the other hand, is all of the stereotypes you'd expect. Gruff and unpretentious. No patience for bullshit whatsoever. Not guarded at all, though there's still a sheen of that famous Canadian reserve, so there's no way of mistaking it for somewhere in Ohio.

Stratford, where I live, is a bit friendly in the way that small towns generally are, but the Presbyterian reserve of Ontario runs deep here. It's fairly easy to spook the natives if you use the wrong approach.

[topdog]

Originally Posted by 905er

Calgary…hands down friendliest. imo

but also the most boorish apparently

[mistercorporate]

Wow, its remarkable how prople have such different perceptions of the friendliness of a locale. Waterloo and Hamilton friendlier than Kitchener and Ottawa? Yikes. Thank god, let the friendly places exist in unspoilt untouched anonymity i say! At least ill get to enjoy them during my lifetime before they become as uptight and pretentious as everywhere else.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Are you comparing it to Ottawa, where you once lived? I've heard from many people that Ottawa is quite stuffy and uber-reserved in the Canadian manner compared to even just southern Ontario (never mind the Maritimes, etc.). And I have to say that I really got that impression the few times I've been there.

Since we're comparing cities (how could we not be?), and I have a fairly extensive acquaintance with both Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton, I'd say that I certainly wouldn't characterize K-W as friendly. Rather, it's mostly nondescript. Neither here nor there. You don't really get a strong impression of anything, save maybe for in Waterloo, where you do get a sense that you're in "Silicon Valley Lite."

Hamilton, on the other hand, is all of the stereotypes you'd expect. Gruff and unpretentious. No patience for bullshit whatsoever. Not guarded at all, though there's still a sheen of that famous Canadian reserve, so there's no way of mistaking it for somewhere in Ohio.

Stratford, where I live, is a bit friendly in the way that small towns generally are, but the Presbyterian reserve of Ontario runs deep here. It's fairly easy to spook the natives if you use the wrong approach.

Ottawa is a strange one. For newcomers in the civil service, it's pretty easy to settle in and make friends, perhaps because so many people have important things in common. I've been told, however, that Ottawa can be a tough town for newcomers in the private sector.

For K-W, I just base my impression on things like people chatting with the neighbours, greeting each other on the street, mixing easily in the volunteer/community org sector, striking up conversations in bars/shops/the grocery line-up. It has given me a sense of "better than average", but my main Canadian comparisons would be downtown Toronto and downtown Ottawa, neither of which is especially friendly, although I must admit I found it very easy to establish a network of friends when I live in Toronto as a younger man. From visits, I would join those who place Atlantic Canada at the top of the Canadian friendly scale.

[Laceoflight]

The friendliest place I've ever been in Canada was definitely Caraquet, NB. People there are extremely welcoming and devoted. I am amazed everytime I go there.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I do find people in French Canada somewhat less polite but OTOH more outgoing and talkative than people in English Canada.

I had to contact the French Consulate office this morning in Toronto. Needless to say those stereotypes of arrogant Parisian waiters must have been based on some semblance of truth. Customer service is not the strong point of the French consulate. After they hung up on me, I called back by blocking my caller ID, they answered and they were pretty ticked off that I got through again.

[BlaineN]

It's a tough call for me. In my experiences, people on the east coast are super friendly, and could make an argument that they are the friendliest. For the bigger cities, I vote Calgary. I have been in Calgary for a couple of years now, and people have been amazingly friendly and welcoming to me.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by flar

Anywhere in the Atlantic region, friendliest hands down.

And where's Hamilton? It's probably the only place in Ontario that I would say is friendly (as long as you don't go around in a suit and tie).

People in Windsor are also very friendly and for the most part, unpretentious, as well as extremely down to earth.

[esquire]

Maybe I just don't spend enough time in one place to really notice, but I can't say I notice vast differences in the levels of friendliness across the country other than these three broad categories:

3. Urbanites (not impolite or unfriendly, just a bit guarded in that urban kind of way)
2. Suburbanites/small town/rural folks (usually a bit more talkative)
1. Atlantic Canadians (the only region that I'd say is noticeably friendlier)

[kwoldtimer]

Re small town friendliness in my and rousseau's neck of the woods, this piece from today's Mop&Pail is quite charming, although perhaps not typical.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle15377075/

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

I had to contact the French Consulate office this morning in Toronto. Needless to say those stereotypes of arrogant Parisian waiters must have been based on some semblance of truth. Customer service is not the strong point of the French consulate. After they hung up on me, I called back by blocking my caller ID, they answered and they were pretty ticked off that I got through again.

LOL!

BTW people from France generally find Québécois very friendly and down to earth.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by Acajack

LOL!

BTW people from France generally find Québécois very friendly and down to earth.

The French embassy office here in Ottawa were much more helpful. It was the Toronto consulate office who needed a crash course in customer service.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Re small town friendliness in my and rousseau's neck of the woods, this piece from today's Mop&Pail is quite charming, although perhaps not typical.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle15377075/

Fun read. And I've heard that Mount Forest does indeed have a comparatively substantial creative/artistic community, so I daresay that that's maybe not what you should expect from just any town of 6,000 people.

What's distinctively Canadian about that article, though, is that it illustrates that you really do need to actively and purposefully set out to explore and get involved with a community for it to open up to you. It's not like in other countries where simply getting off the bus or train and walking down the street affords you an immediate and powerful sense of a place and its people.

Canada is sort of hidden and inscrutable that way. We don't jump out at the visitor.

[Black Star]

Regina has always been a friendly city when visiting.

Toronto gets the nod also. Always seem to have a good time and meet some interesting and friendly people.


Dont forget this city of 1.4 million souls they Call Edmonton. Pretty friendly here also.