Mastercard rankings show Canadian cities lower on financial centre rankings.
Canada's cities lose ground as commerce centres
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are less influential, a new study says, but rank high in ease of doing business
TAVIA GRANT
From Monday's Globe and Mail
June 9, 2008 at 4:28 AM EDT
Canada's largest cities are losing ground as global centres of commerce, a study to be released today suggests.
All three of the country's biggest cities - Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver - slid down the rankings of 75 cities that drive the global economy, according to MasterCard Inc.'s second annual worldwide "centres of commerce" index, released exclusively to the Globe and Mail.
Two factors contributed to the drop: one is that new cities, such as Philadelphia and Osaka, were added to the rankings this year and emerged ahead of the Canadian cities. The second is that other cities, such as Shanghai, are moving up while Canada is remaining relatively still.
"It is, to a large extent, that others are gaining ground," said Maurice Levi, professor of international finance at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and member of the panel that compiled the index. "There is a real danger if you don't try to move ahead with other cities."
Toronto slipped to 13th place globally from the 12th spot last year. Montreal fell to No. 32 from 27 while Vancouver tumbled to the 37th spot from No. 28.
Where do we fall short? Vancouver and Montreal lack financial flows, such as bond and commodity markets. And every Canadian city could improve with more investment in universities, Mr. Levi said.
"Where you do generate real income and prosperity is through invention and innovation - having trained people. Education's terribly important," he said.
Globally, London is still on top. New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Chicago round out the top five. London reigns supreme because of its "strong and secure economy, vibrant financial markets and a legal and political framework that supports high levels of international trade," the survey proclaimed.
Canadians can still feel a bit smug, however. London, with its reputation for being hideously expensive, still has room for improvement in the "livability" sub-category while Vancouver earned the distinction as world's most livable city.
"Canada seems to outperform the United States in ease of doing business," the report also noted. "Legal safeguards, which make the U.S. a highly litigious country, may be a contributing factor here."
All three Canadian cities ranked in the top 10 globally for ease of doing business.
"We tend to forget that, while yes there are hurdles here and bureaucracy and red tape - but try doing the same thing in a European city or a Latin American city. We actually do pretty well on this," Mr. Levi said.
The study measures broad factors such as political climate, economic stability, education and business activity. More specifically, it includes elements such as the number of five-star hotels, Moody's ratings, access to credit, access to broadband, number of medical schools and quality of health care.
The index was compiled by a panel of nine economists and university professors from around the world.
Top centres of commerce
MasterCard Worldwide ranked 50 cities based on six measures of business accessibility:
London 1. 79.17
New York 2. 72.77
Tokyo 3. 66.6
Singapore 4. 66.16
Chicago 5. 65.24
Hong Kong 6. 63.94
Paris 7. 63.87
Frankfurt 8. 62.34
Seoul 9. 61.83
Amsterdam 10. 60.06
Toronto 13. 58.16
DOUGLAS COULL/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
SOURCE: MASTERCARD WORLDWIDE
Canada's cities lose ground as commerce centres
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are less influential, a new study says, but rank high in ease of doing business
TAVIA GRANT
From Monday's Globe and Mail
June 9, 2008 at 4:28 AM EDT
Canada's largest cities are losing ground as global centres of commerce, a study to be released today suggests.
All three of the country's biggest cities - Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver - slid down the rankings of 75 cities that drive the global economy, according to MasterCard Inc.'s second annual worldwide "centres of commerce" index, released exclusively to the Globe and Mail.
Two factors contributed to the drop: one is that new cities, such as Philadelphia and Osaka, were added to the rankings this year and emerged ahead of the Canadian cities. The second is that other cities, such as Shanghai, are moving up while Canada is remaining relatively still.
"It is, to a large extent, that others are gaining ground," said Maurice Levi, professor of international finance at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and member of the panel that compiled the index. "There is a real danger if you don't try to move ahead with other cities."
Toronto slipped to 13th place globally from the 12th spot last year. Montreal fell to No. 32 from 27 while Vancouver tumbled to the 37th spot from No. 28.
Where do we fall short? Vancouver and Montreal lack financial flows, such as bond and commodity markets. And every Canadian city could improve with more investment in universities, Mr. Levi said.
"Where you do generate real income and prosperity is through invention and innovation - having trained people. Education's terribly important," he said.
Globally, London is still on top. New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Chicago round out the top five. London reigns supreme because of its "strong and secure economy, vibrant financial markets and a legal and political framework that supports high levels of international trade," the survey proclaimed.
Canadians can still feel a bit smug, however. London, with its reputation for being hideously expensive, still has room for improvement in the "livability" sub-category while Vancouver earned the distinction as world's most livable city.
"Canada seems to outperform the United States in ease of doing business," the report also noted. "Legal safeguards, which make the U.S. a highly litigious country, may be a contributing factor here."
All three Canadian cities ranked in the top 10 globally for ease of doing business.
"We tend to forget that, while yes there are hurdles here and bureaucracy and red tape - but try doing the same thing in a European city or a Latin American city. We actually do pretty well on this," Mr. Levi said.
The study measures broad factors such as political climate, economic stability, education and business activity. More specifically, it includes elements such as the number of five-star hotels, Moody's ratings, access to credit, access to broadband, number of medical schools and quality of health care.
The index was compiled by a panel of nine economists and university professors from around the world.
Top centres of commerce
MasterCard Worldwide ranked 50 cities based on six measures of business accessibility:
London 1. 79.17
New York 2. 72.77
Tokyo 3. 66.6
Singapore 4. 66.16
Chicago 5. 65.24
Hong Kong 6. 63.94
Paris 7. 63.87
Frankfurt 8. 62.34
Seoul 9. 61.83
Amsterdam 10. 60.06
Toronto 13. 58.16
DOUGLAS COULL/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
SOURCE: MASTERCARD WORLDWIDE
