Best Startup Cities

Best startup cities in Canada in 2027

27 cities in Canada make our ranking of 1,000 startup cities worldwide. Toronto leads at #26 with a total score of 15.68, followed by Vancouver (#42) and Montreal (#46).

For women founders, Vancouver scores highest in Canada on the MeanCEO Index with 78/100. Each city page covers funding, company registration, taxes, founder visas, pros and cons, and the ten MeanCEO factors.

Startup cities in Canada, ranked

#CityWorld rankTotalQuantityQualityBusinessMeanCEO
1 Toronto #26 15.68 4.64 7.49 3.55 66
2 Vancouver #42 10.35 2.39 4.41 3.55 78
3 Montreal #46 9.25 1.79 3.91 3.55 66
4 Ottawa #89 5.88 0.67 1.66 3.55 66
5 Kitchener Waterloo #101 5.33 0.7 1.08 3.55 57
6 Calgary #116 4.85 0.72 0.59 3.55 64
7 Quebec City #125 4.62 0.58 0.94 3.1 58
8 Edmonton #126 4.6 0.69 0.37 3.55 65
9 Halifax #234 1.54 0.17 0.17 1.2 66
10 Winnipeg #262 1.23 0.17 0.1 0.96 58
11 Hamilton #322 0.82 0.12 0.06 0.64 60
12 Kelowna #327 0.78 0.12 0.06 0.61 69
13 Fredericton #346 0.7 0.09 0.06 0.54 57
14 Saskatoon #410 0.52 0.05 0.06 0.41 57
15 Regina #470 0.41 0.05 0.04 0.32 56
16 Moncton #502 0.37 0.04 0.04 0.29 57
17 London #503 0.37 0.05 0.03 0.29 57
18 Sherbrooke #538 0.33 0.03 0.04 0.25 58
19 Barrie #558 0.31 0.04 0.03 0.24 59
20 St. John`s #563 0.31 0.02 0.04 0.24 57
21 Thunder Bay #598 0.28 0.03 0.03 0.21 57
22 Charlottetown #629 0.25 0.03 0.03 0.19 57
23 Brantford #636 0.25 0.03 0.03 0.19 56
24 Saint John #652 0.24 0.03 0.02 0.18 65
25 Milton #761 0.19 0.01 0.03 0.15 67
26 Stratford #798 0.18 0.02 0.02 0.14 57
27 Peterborough #896 0.14 0.01 0.02 0.11 57

Total = quantity (startups, accelerators, coworking spaces) + quality (traction of top startups, unicorns, exits) + business environment (national conditions), from the StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index (2024 edition). The MeanCEO Index (0 to 100) is our own score of how livable and welcoming a city is for women founders.

Other countries in North America

All countries ยท All 1,000 cities, ranked