Toronto ranks second on list of cities with the best reputations

By Lindsay Jolivet

Torontonians might be the subjects of much loathing among Canadians who love to gripe about their rudeness — real or not — but the city just found something else to be smug about: Toronto ranked second on a list of the world's most reputable cities.

The Reputation Institute released its list of cities ordered from best to worst reputation this week, based on a survey of 22,000 members of the general public sharing their perceptions on 100 of the world's largest, most economically active cities that are attractive to tourists.

Sydney, Australia, ranked first with 77.3 points out of a hundred tallied up from subjects' reviews of attributes such as beauty, safety and cultural offerings in each city.

The survey also looked into who lived in each city: are there renowned writers, artists, musicians or scholars?

Vancouver and Montreal missed the top 10 at number 14 and 18 on the list, while Baghdad was dead last.

1. Sydney - 77.3
2. Toronto - 76.9
3. Stockholm - 76.9
4. Vienna - 76.9
5. Venice - 75.8
6. Florence - 75.7
7. Edinburgh - 75.1
8. Zurich - 74.7
9. London - 74.4
10. Copenhagen - 74.3

Last year, Vancouver was in the top position, which means the city took quite a tumble in the rankings this year. Its point tally dropped from 74.2 to 73.6, according to the institute's chart.

So while Vancouverites might be feeling a little less esteemed today, Torontonians, it could be said, have some cause for feeling as puffed up as ever.