Vancouver is rated first among North American cities for quality of life, in a closely watched annual survey, followed by Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal in second, third and fourth places. San Francisco won the fifth spot.

On a global basis, once again, the top city in the world for quality of life is Vienna. Zurich is second, followed by the New Zealand city of Auckland and then Munich. Vancouver clinches fifth place.

(READ more from the Toronto Globe and Mail)