The 10 Best Places to Live in Canada for Families

Looking for the perfect family-friendly community in Canada? This guide highlights ten locations known for their excellent schools, safety, and amenities.

By Josh Sherman | 14 minute read

The best places to live in Canada for families are spread across five provinces.

For homebuyers interested in finding the best places to live in Canada for families, the task can seem daunting. 

Where does one begin? The country spans a whopping 7,560 kilometres and crosses six time zones. There are more than 5,000 municipalities in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, and each of these towns and cities have their own distinct qualities and traits. 

Fortunately, information has never been more accessible, allowing homebuyers to make data-driven decisions — but you have to know where to look.

Wahi has a trove of real estate data, from home value estimates to past sales data, but another valuable resource is Local Logic, which lays claim to being the real estate industry’s largest location dataset. Pulling from a wide array of public and private sources, Local Logic rates locations (right down to the address) across a variety of categories, from the quality of public transit to the proximity to amenities including grocery stores, cafes, and retail.

So how does that help identify the best places to live in Canada for families? According to Local Logic, family-friendly places score well in five categories: car-friendliness, crime, parks, quietness, and schools. At Wahi’s request, Local Logic pulled the top 10 cities based on their performance in these categories, taking into account additional factors such as daycares and the share of households with children. Local Logic provided individual category scores, as well as an overall composite ranking out of 100%.

The results may surprise you. They certainly surprised Local Logic’s Françoise Provencher, a data science manager, and Zackary Flansberry, a senior data scientist, both of whom helped put together the ranking. In particular, the pair was pleasantly surprised at how various provinces were represented, which isn’t always the case. “I’ve done this kind of list before and sometimes they’re all clustered together in one place,” says Provencher. This time, “they were very well distributed,” Provencher continues. “There’s nice places everywhere in Canada where you can have a family in a quiet place with lots of parks,” she adds.

While the list of the best places to live in Canada for families can help homebuyers narrow their search, Provencher points out that there isn’t a universal definition for family friendly. “Some families really thrive in more pedestrian-friendly or transit-friendly places,” notes Provencher, whose family doesn’t own a car and manages just fine in Montreal on foot, bike, or public transit.

Here’s a breakdown of each category, followed by the best places to live in Canada for families. 

Car-Friendly 

To determine car-friendliness, Local Logic analyzes the layout of the local road network. “We make complicated computations based on what the road network looks like,” says Provencher. “There’s a lot of stuff that you can learn just by looking at the road network,” she explains. For example, the presence of wide roads with medians suggests a car-centric environment, while smaller blocks in a tightly-knit grid indicate an area that’s likely more walkable.  

Crime 

Due to data limitations, Local Logic controlled for crime after running the numbers across the other categories. “We’ve ensured that certain communities that turned up [and] had very high crime rates haven’t been included,” Flansberry explains. (If low crime is your top priority, you may want to check out our roundup of the 15 safest cities in Canada.)

Parks 

The number of parks, the total combined acreage of the parks, as well as their proximity to where people live all contribute to the park rating. Green amenities such as golf courses are excluded from calculations, says Provencher. “That green space needs to be a park [for consideration],” she notes. “If it’s a private property it doesn’t count.”

Quiet  

“It takes into account the distance to some big noise sources, such as interchange noise, [or] airport noise,” says Provencher of the quiet rating. Quietness could vary greatly from specific address to address, she notes. To try and control for these fluctuations, Local Logic looks at where people actually live within a geographic zone. “Because we have the score for every house in the city, the way that we weight it is by population,” she tells Wahi. “So if there’s a big commercial area where nobody lives but everybody lives around it, it will rate that quiet [higher].”

Schools 

The school rating is calculated based on a given location’s proximity to schools — or “how far you have to walk,” explains Provencher, who notes that Local Logic manually updates the inventory of schools. “The school scores at the moment do not take the ratings into account,” she adds. This category is divided into two ratings: one for primary schools and the other for secondary schools.

Parents interested in finding out where the top schools are in their city do further research by checking resources such as the Fraser Institute’s comprehensive ranking of every public and private school in Ontario.

While living near a top school is a priority for many families, Anne Alkok, Wahi’s broker of record, notes that you’ll typically pay a premium for real estate in such locations. “Neighbourhoods with top schools tend to be in higher demand and prices in those areas do tend to be higher,” says Alkok.

The Best Places to Live in Canada for Families  

The best places to live in Canada for families are spread across the country, appearing in seven out of 10 provinces and giving homebuyers lots of choice when it comes to family-friendly locales. “We do have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to family-friendly cities,” says Flansberry.

To be included in the ranking, cities had to have populations of at least 10,000, although most on the list were much larger. If multiple bordering cities ranked similarly, Local Logic made attempts to filter some out to ensure the widest possible range of locations were represented. “The GTA, for instance, had a couple that I tried to scatter geographically to ensure that you wouldn’t get Ajax, and Whitby, and Clarington, and Oshawa, because that’s in the same pocket,” Flansberry explains. As a rule of thumb, if you’re curious to find more of the best places to live in Canada for families, you may want to look at communities nearby the ones Local Logic has flagged.

Note that Local Logic’s below list of the 10 best places to live in Canada actually includes 12 destinations due to ties in the composite score, which ranged from 78% to 84%. We’ve presented the cities from west to east, beginning on Vancouver Island:

1. Saanich, B.C. (Greater Victoria)

Car-Friendly Score: 4.1

Park Score: 4.2

Quiet Score: 4.0

Primary School Score: 4

High School Score: 3.5

Composite Score: 78%

Positioned on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Saanich borders Vancouver’s capital, Victoria, and has the largest population on the island measuring nearly 32,000 square kilometres (or roughly half the size of Ireland). Outdoorsy types will likely appreciate Saanich’s beaches, gardens, trails, and gardens. It’s not in every community that the Pacific Ocean is your backyard. Being on an island, the city has a slower pace of life compared to the larger urban centres on this list, though meeting day-to-day needs shouldn’t be an issue in this city of approximately 117,000 residents.

2. Port Coquitlam, B.C. (Greater Vancouver) 

Car-Friendly Score: 4.2

Park Score: 4.7

Quiet Score: 3.8

Primary School Score: 4.3

High School Score: 3.7

Composite Score: 84%

To those who already live there, it probably comes as no surprise that Port Coquitlam scores the highest in the parks category of any entry on Local Logic’s list of the best places to live in Canada for families. The mid-sized city, nestled in the very heart of the Greater Vancouver Area, boasts an impressive 270 hectares of parkland. Although PoCo, as it’s known to locals, has a smaller population of approximately 61,000, the city is just a little over an hour from Vancouver. Meanwhile, manufacturing and the presence of a Canadian Pacific Railway yard are a boon to the local economy, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. If you’re set on the west coast but the idea of living on an island seems isolating, Port Coquitlam’s could be a strong candidate for a new home.

3. Calgary, Atla.

Park Score: 4.7

Quiet Score: 4.3

Primary School Score: 4.0

High School Score: 3.3

Composite Score: 80%

Arguing the case for Calgary as one of the best places to live in Canada for families isn’t difficult. In recent years, Canadians have been choosing to relocate from other provinces to Alberta in droves — 2023 was a record-breaking year for interprovincial migration to the so-called Wild Rose Country — and many of these newcomers end up in Calgary. A few forces are driving the population boom, including cheaper housing than in other major real estate markets, employment opportunities (particularly in the energy sector), and the Prairie lifestyle. As a result, Calgary’s population has hurtled past the 1.3-million mark, supporting the types of restaurants, cafes, and other amenities typically associated with more cosmopolitan centres. If you’re considering relocating to Calgary with your family, Wahi recently spoke to experts about what to expect and how to prepare.  

4. Edmonton, Atla.  

Car-Friendly Score: 4.0

Park Score: 4.2

Quiet Score: 4.1

Primary School Score: 4.2

High School Score: 2.7

Composite Score: 79%

Often overshadowed by Calgary, Edmonton is Alberta’s second most populous province. A bit more low-key than its neighbour to the southwest in terms of population (about 1 million), economy (GDP), and lifestyle, Edmonton is also a more affordable alternative to Cowtown. But don’t mistake Edmonton for a sleepy town. It’s sometimes called Canada’s festival city, owing to the fact that it hosts dozens of annual events for every season, from celebrations of Francophone music and latin culture to cycling and poetry fairs. As Alberta’s capital, there’s a large government sector providing well-paying employment opportunities, too.  

5. Regina, Sask.  

Car-Friendly Score: 4.0

Park Score: 4.2

Quiet Score: 4.1

Primary School Score: 4.2

High School Score: 2.7

Composite Score: 79%

Saskatchewan’s capital prides itself on combining big-city amenities with a friendly small-town vibe, giving families the best of both worlds. “Regina is a welcoming place to call home and [an] excellent location to raise a family,” according to the City of Regina’s website. “With hundreds of parks and an abundance of sport and recreation facilities, arts and cultural centres, museums and performance spaces, major attractions and events all year round, there is something for everyone.” Despite its family-friendly attributes, Regina has flown below the radar and hasn’t experienced the explosive population growth that’s taken hold of other cities in Western Canada, the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce suggests. The upshot is it hasn’t seen continued leaps in home prices and rents, though it did experience a pandemic boost. About 225,000 people reside in Regina today.

6. Oakville, Ont. (Greater Toronto Area)  

Car-Friendly Score: 4.1 

Park Score: 4.6

Quiet Score: 4.0

Primary School Score: 4.1

High School Score: 2.7

Composite Score: 82%

Midway between Toronto and Niagara, Oakville is a harbourfront city with a thriving waterfront that caters to a suburban lifestyle within the GTA. It also has some of the top-rated schools in the province: Forrest Trail Public School earned a perfect 10/10 in the Fraser Institute’s Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools 2024. If you’re eyeing the best places to live in Canada for families on a budget, though, Oakville might not be a fit. Top schools, a location near Toronto, as well as a housing inventory of large well-maintained homes and many custom builds contribute to higher local home prices than other parts of southern Ontario. 

7. Barrie, Ont.  

Car-Friendly Score: 4.2

Park Score: 4.0

Quiet Score: 4.2

Primary School Score: 4.1

High School Score: 2.9

Composite Score: 80%

Just north of the GTA, Barrie is a bedroom community for Canada’s largest urban centre. It’s also one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities. Barrie’s population is projected to surge by nearly 100,000 by 2041. Despite this sizable growth, it maintains the title of the safest city in Canada. In 2023, Barrie attained a Crime Severity Index score of 48.1,  well below the national average 80.5 and the lowest of the 42 census metro areas surveyed by Statistics Canada. Libraries, splash pads, community centres, trails, and sportsfields abound in Barrie, so there’s no shortage of activities and programming geared towards families. But don’t just take our word on Barrie’s status as one of the best places to live in Canada for families. A couple of years ago, the city made this ranking of the 51 most family-friendly cities in Canada.

8. Vaughan, Ont. (Greater Toronto Area) 

Car-Friendly Score: 4.1 

Park Score: 3.8

Quiet Score: 4.0

Primary School Score: 4.3

High School Score: 2.9

Composite Score: 80%

With the recent expansion of Toronto’s subway system to Vaughan’s new downtown, the so-called City Above Toronto has become increasingly urban over the past decade. The transformation has brought more amenities (and a lot more condos). Among the 10 best places to live in Canada for families, Vaughan is tied for first with Whitby when looking at the share of house households with children (71%). Outside of the burgeoning Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, there are large swaths of mature low-rise communities and the city maintains 1,000 hectares of parks, making it a great place for families to put down roots. 

9. Whitby, Ont.  (Greater Toronto Area)

Car-Friendly Score: 4.0

Park Score: 3.8

Quiet Score: 4.0

Primary School Score: 4.3

High School Score: 2.6

Composite Score: 79%

About an hour east of Toronto, Whitby began the 20th century as a town where farmers retired. Rapid post-war development changed that, as a building boom brought sprawling subdivisions, municipal infrastructure and facilities, and amenities. Today, it’s a city of about 140,000, although it hasn’t outgrown its suburban vibe. It’s one of the safest places to drive in Ontario and features many quiet subdivisions. These range from older developments dating back to the ‘70s or earlier up to new-build houses and even condos, particularly near the historic downtown. One of the community’s main draws, the charming core encompasses nearly 500 shops, restaurants, and other businesses. The waterfront near Port Whitby is another big attraction where you’ll find lakeside parks, trails, and beaches. Whitby is part of the broader Durham region, which is known for having relatively affordable single-family homes, at least compared to many other parts of the GTA. 

10. Saint-Lambert, Que. (Greater Montreal)
 

Car-Friendly Score: 4.3

Park Score: 4.4

Quiet Score: 3.2

Primary School Score: 4.2

High School Score: 3.6

Composite Score: 78%

Set on the banks of the St. Lawrence River and across from Montreal, Saint-Lambert is the smallest city out of the 10 best places to live in Canada for families. The local population falls slightly short of 23,000. The quaint downtown, dubbed the Village, functions as an old-time town square — a hub of activity. It hosts festivities and other programming throughout the year, making this Francophone city small in population but mighty in culture. Outside of the village, Saint-Lambert is overwhelmingly residential. In fact, citywide, 95% of the buildings here are residential, and more than half are single-family homes, according to the municipality’s website.

11. Fredericton, N.B.

Car-Friendly Score: 4.3

Park Score: 3.0

 
Quiet Score: 4.5

Primary School Score: 3.6

High School Score: 3.3

Composite Score: 78%

New Brunswick’s capital, Fredericton, has been rated Atlantic Canada’s most livable city by one study that took 43 variables into account, ranging from housing and economic factors to transit and climate. The city, which straddles the Saint John River, has a compact downtown overlooking the water. Downtown Fredericton is rich in history thanks to the many century buildings that have been preserved. Not far from the downtown, winding country roads weave across a rolling green landscape clustered with enclaves of single-family homes on large properties. Put up against the other best places to live in Canada for families, Fredericton, population 63,000, has the lowest share of households with children (52%). However, the city lends itself to families who want to keep their kids close to home as they grow up. It has three universities within its borders: St. Thomas University, University of New Brunswick, and Yorkville University.

12. Halifax, N.S.   

Car-Friendly Score: 3.6

Park Score: 4.4

Quiet Score: 4.4

Primary School Score: 4.0

High School Score: 3.1

Composite Score: 79%

Halifax is the largest city in the Maritimes, and one of the oldest in Canada. Some 440,000 inhabitants live within the regional municipality. The capital of Nova Scotia affords residents a relatively low cost of living for a city of its size — and a lot more. “Today it’s an incredible, historic city with a hip vibe, great amenities, fantastic seafood, and delicious beer,” Pamela Wamback of Tourism Nova Scotia told the Boston Globe. The city is the economic powerhouse of the Maritimes, with potential employment opportunities in the public and private sectors.  Spanning nearly 5,500 square kilometres, the regional municipality covers a large area that ranges from rural to urban and everything in between.