Vancouver drops to 58th in global smart-city ranking as housing affordability remains top concern

Vancouver has dropped to 58th place in the 2026 Smart City Index from IMD, down from 53rd in 2025 and a much higher 28th in 2021. Toronto ranked 48th (up from 63rd in 2025) and Montreal ranked 86th in the index, which evaluated 148 cities worldwide on technology, infrastructure, quality of life and other factors.

Vancouver received BBB ratings for both structures and technologies in the 2026 index. Toronto scored an A in technologies but received a BBB overall rating, scoring higher in technology performance than structural performance.

Across all three Canadian cities, affordable housing dominated residents' concerns. In Vancouver, 85.4% of respondents selected affordable housing as one of five most urgent issues, followed by 66.7% citing health services and 58.5% citing road congestion. Toronto residents similarly prioritized housing at 83.1%, with road congestion at 55.6% and health services at 53.2%. Montreal's breakdown was not detailed in the index.

On specific city services, Vancouver residents reported mixed satisfaction: 78.6% said recycling services are satisfactory, while only 56.3% said basic sanitation meets the needs of the city's poorest areas. However, residents credited online tools with improving access to services — 68.4% said buying tickets online for shows and museums made attending easier, 65.3% said online job listings made finding work easier, and 62.3% said online medical appointments improved access to care.

Toronto's technology score was comparatively stronger, but all three Canadian cities ranked in the lower half of the global assessment. Montreal received a BB overall rating with a B in technologies and BB in structures, posting technology and structures scores of 52.7 and 53.8 respectively.