Lots of Americans are guilty of downsizing Canadian cities during conversations. They figure that, since it’s a smaller economy, the cities must somehow feel less intense or cheaper than their American counterparts. They’re not always right.
In reality, many Canadian cities function in a way that surprises many Americans once they look past the stereotypes.
Here are ten things that Americans generally underestimate about Canadian cities. A few of these differences may only be obvious from living there for a while. Which of these false ideas annoys you the most?
Toronto’s tech skills
Many Americans see Toronto as a banking city, and that means they underestimate how powerful the tech workforce is there. But the tech industry ranks a lot higher than many Americans expect.
Data from CBRE’s 2025 Tech Talent report ranks Toronto third in the entirety of North America for its tech talent.
In fact, the nation added 66,600 tech jobs in 2024 alone, and that kind of growth rate was much greater than America’s in the same report.
Vancouver’s role as a trade gateway
Another city that gets underestimated is Vancouver, and this time, it’s in terms of its appearance.
Sure, it does look scenic. But many Americans overlook the city’s industrial importance because of that, even though data shows it’s the largest port by volume in Canada.
The city moved 158 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2024. It’s a rather important city for global trade, not simply regional shipping traffic, making it a lot more than a city that’s nice to look at.
Montréal’s snow removal
Americans sometimes see snow removal as a mere seasonal nuisance in Canada, rather than the huge logistics operation it actually is. Cities like Montréal have to clear snow from around 10,000 kilometres of streets & sidewalks each winter.
That figure is a network larger than a lot of metro road systems. As such, clearing the snow in Canadian cities is a much greater operation than many Americans realize.
Toronto’s “nature in the city”
It’s normal for Americans to imagine Toronto’s green spaces as being a few parkettes scattered across the city. Yet that’s not true.
The city’s ravine system alone is far larger than that, with research finding that the ravines cover around 17% of the city’s land area.
The ravines travel across 11,000 hectares of land in the city. Toronto is a much greener city than many Americans give it credit for.
Big-event attendance
You won’t find many Canadian city events getting a lot of media coverage in the United States, and that’s what makes them easy to overlook. The truth is, Canadian city events do get a lot of attendees.
The Calgary Stampede had 1,331,280 attendees in 2024, and such a figure is close to the crowd levels of major international festivals. Canadian city events are a lot bigger than some Americans assume.
Toronto’s safety
So many Americans think that cities like Toronto must be high-risk places because of their size, and they underestimate how safe they actually are. The 2023 homicide rate in Toronto was 3.35 per 100,000 residents.
The overall violent crime rate is much lower than in other North American metro areas. The general image of Toronto being a dangerous big city doesn’t really fly in practice, and many Americans underestimate how safe it actually is.
Montréal’s bike-share usage
People living in America may have heard about Montréal’s bike-sharing system, although they often see it as a summer novelty. But it’s not.
BIXI logged around 10 million trips in a single year, with 12,000 bikes & over 1,000 stations across the city.
People use bikes in Canadian cities at a much greater scale than many Americans actually realize.
Toronto’s film & TV production scale
The Canadian Media Producers Association reported that Ontario received $2.88 billion in film & TV production between 2022 and 2023. However, lots of Americans don’t know that. They underestimate how popular Canadian cities are as filming locations for American shows.
These cities support major studio projects throughout the year that include large soundstages & experienced crews. Canadian cities work for many international productions.
Vancouver’s rent levels
It’s a common belief among many Americans that Canadian rents are more affordable across the board. Sadly, that’s not true.
Vancouver routinely has the highest average rent in Canada, and the average one-bedroom apartment in the city costs over $2,600 per month.
In fact, many Canadian cities are in the same bracket for the rent prices as high-priced American urban markets. The rent certainly isn’t cheaper over here.
Montréal’s restaurant density
Sure, Americans know a bit about Montréal’s food industry. But they tend to underestimate how many dining spots are across the city, and they have no idea that there are more than 5,000 restaurants on the island.
It actually has one of the highest restaurant-per-resident ratios in the entire continent.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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