Canadian cities do surprisingly well in Sustainable Cities Index

Toronto doesn't FEEL like a very sustainable city, at least to me, but in the scheme of things, apparently we aren't doing too badly.

Corporate Knights magazine has published its Sustainable Cities Index for 2023, and, while Europe (and particularly Scandinavia) is predictably hands-down head-and-shoulders above the rest, Canadian cities score above average on the sustainability scale that incorporates Consumption GHGs, Air Pollution, Transportation, Policies and Resilience.

Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the index are all Scandinavian (Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Lahti, Finland). Interestingly, London is No 5, ahead of Aukland and Sydney, followed by Berlin. The Top 10 is filled out by the first two Canadian cities, Winnipeg and Vancouver. A bunch of other Canadian cities make the Top 20, though, including Halifax (11), Montreal (14), Toronto (15), Calgary (17), Ottawa (19), and Edmonton (20).

Not too shabby. All the major Canadian cities appear above any American cities, as well as above any cities in China, Central and South America or Africa. Only Tokyo (12) and Seoul (18) come close among Asian cities.

Still plenty more to do, particularly in terms of Transportation and Consumption GHGs. Plus, Toronto's ranking fell from 11 last year to 15 this year, while Winnipeg, Halifax, Montreal and Calgary all improved. But we can at least feel a little bit good.