Ottawa city skyline at sunrise in the morning park view over river (Songquan Deng/Shutterstock)

Patricia Walsh’s three children are leaving Ottawa to start their careers, but the 58-year-old retired public servant is staying put.

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Sure, Walsh has considered moving but every time she considers a different city, she realizes it can’t compete with Canada’s capital. She likes Ottawa’s size, safety and ease of getting around.

“I love to travel but I always love to come back to this city,” Walsh said. Nothing else has intrigued me enough, has gotten me interested enough to leave.”

The results of this year’s ranking of the best places to retire suggest Walsh is onto something. Ottawa took the top spot, thanks to its great healthcare, easy access to amenities and friendliness to cyclists, pedestrians and transit users.

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Ottawa has historically done very well in the Canada’s Best Places to Live ranking, winning the top honour in the main ranking in 2016 and 2017 before being knocked off its throne by Oakville, Ont. this year. Ottawa’s balance of a strong, stable economy and an affordable cost of living make it tough to beat.

Those same factors make it a great place to retire. It may not be the bucolic small town or sun-drenched island many picture when imagining the ideal place to spend our golden years, but it has a lot going for it in other areas that are arguably more important.

Small town living is great while you’re healthy, but as we age, it becomes increasingly important to have top hospitals and healthcare professionals nearby. And Ottawa came in number one out of 415 cities in the ranking’s access to healthcare category.

The city has excellent hospitals, including specialized ones like the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. It has the sixth highest concentration of doctors’ offices in the country, with 779 clinics. And while there’s always room for improvement, Ontario has the shortest healthcare wait times in the country.

Seniors who moved to small towns may find themselves isolated once they give up their drivers’ licences, but Ottawa’s retirees have a wide range of options. It is among the top 10 cities for the percentage of its population that walks, bikes or takes public transit to work. The city’s paths along the river and canal are great for recreation, as well as getting from point A to point B.

For Walsh, Ottawa is the Goldilocks of cities: Not too big, not too small, but just right.

“It’s not Montreal or Toronto. It’s not a huge big city,” she said. “It’s a reasonably-sized city that has so much going for it.”

Our ranking of the best places to retire is based on the same 10 categories as the main Best Places to Live ranking, but with the weightings adjusted to reflect the needs and interests of retirees. The weather and healthcare categories are worth more and we take the unemployment rate out of consideration. For more information, please see the methodology page.

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Canada’s Best Places to Retire — by region

Atlantic Canada: Fredericton, N.B. (no. 77)
Quebec: Westmount (no. 12)
Ontario: Ottawa (no. 1)
Prairies: Saskatoon, Sask. (no. 76)
Alberta: Calgary (no. 36)
British Columbia: Whistler (no. 18)

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The Top 100

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City name	Province	Property tax rate as % of average income	Family doctors per 100,000 population	Population	Average value of primary real estate	Average annual property tax bill	Population that walks to work	Population that bikes to work	Population that takes transit to work	Days per year with rain or snow	Days per year with rain	Days per year above 0C	Days per year above 20C	Crime rate per 100,000 population [1]	Crime Severity Index [1][2]	Violent Crime Severity Index [1][3]	Doctors' offices	Population employed in arts and recreation	Community index (higher is better)
Ottawa	ON	2.4%	142	999,183	$510,363	$3,254	4.3%	1.5%	13.8%	161	118	216	117	3,782	52	64	779	2.2%	102
Toronto	ON	2.0%	75	2,933,262	$880,923	$2,384	4.2%	1.3%	19.2%	145	114	264	117	3,847	59	104	3145	3.4%	99
Oakville	ON	2.6%	91	209,039	$1,218,967	$5,269	1.8%	0.4%	8.3%	118	102	222	107	2,133	25	22	220	2.4%	98
Burlington	ON	2.5%	100	197,683	$870,475	$3,749	2.0%	0.4%	5.3%	136	114	239	125	2,133	25	22	197	2.2%	103
Carleton Place	ON	2.5%	142	10,764	$348,538	$2,729	4.4%	0.3%	2.5%	154	114	198	117	5,362	48	37	8	1.5%	104
Milton	ON	2.0%	91	120,556	$1,146,379	$3,855	1.3%	0.3%	4.8%	139	112	196	120	2,133	25	22	63	1.7%	82
Cornwall	ON	2.4%	142	47,734	$211,715	$1,811	3.3%	0.8%	3.0%	150	115	224	120	7,997	80	96	74	0.6%	117
Belleville	ON	2.4%	137	51,835	$333,335	$2,181	4.3%	0.7%	2.4%	149	116	229	117	7,281	75	74	98	1.0%	114
New Tecumseth	ON	2.6%	95	36,745	$583,646	$3,501	2.5%	0.6%	1.6%	155	115	216	122	2,906	35	32	13	1.4%	106
Newmarket	ON	2.7%	95	90,908	$920,758	$3,894	2.8%	0.3%	5.6%	130	102	211	107	2,749	34	36	131	2.1%	99
Mississippi Mills	ON	2.7%	142	13,407	$423,263	$3,629	2.1%	0.2%	2.6%	154	114	198	117	2,138	28	33	6	2.4%	115
Westmount	QC	2.7%	124	21,083	$1,588,535	$6,812	7.5%	1.2%	10.1%	163	119	218	117	4,594	72	96	78	5.3%	122
Kingston	ON	2.5%	137	133,328	$392,953	$2,644	6.1%	1.5%	5.3%	159	123	223	99	5,664	62	44	189	1.5%	108
Halton Hills	ON	2.6%	91	65,782	$1,088,359	$4,413	2.6%	0.4%	3.1%	139	112	196	120	2,133	25	22	27	1.9%	108
The Nation	ON	2.2%	142	13,275	$386,219	$2,713	2.0%	0.4%	3.2%	155	122	200	113	2,186	34	42	2	1.5%	99
Collingwood	ON	2.7%	105	23,190	$507,796	$2,763	3.2%	1.2%	1.6%	163	117	216	101	4,772	44	32	44	2.0%	110
Mont-Royal	QC	3.3%	124	21,172	$1,146,801	$7,090	2.8%	1.3%	12.3%	163	119	218	117	4,594	72	96	25	3.0%	114
Whistler	BC	1.2%	159	13,193	$1,620,336	$1,947	7.4%	4.5%	9.7%	180	142	218	83	14,137	96	54	13	5.9%	116
Richmond Hill	ON	2.6%	95	211,034	$1,330,432	$4,172	1.3%	0.2%	7.7%	165	120	221	119	2,749	34	36	184	2.1%	96
Markham	ON	2.8%	95	358,416	$1,329,714	$4,524	1.0%	0.2%	8.4%	165	120	221	119	2,749	34	36	238	1.9%	102
St. Catharines	ON	2.7%	100	136,160	$403,179	$2,432	2.4%	0.6%	2.4%	151	117	238	127	3,900	50	37	201	1.7%	118
Russell	ON	2.2%	142	17,155	$403,638	$3,528	2.1%	0.3%	3.6%	164	118	210	78	2,540	28	26	4	1.8%	101
Montréal	QC	2.0%	124	1,798,719	$499,823	$1,332	4.8%	1.9%	19.9%	165	120	206	118	4,594	72	96	1059	3.6%	78
Cobourg	ON	2.7%	81	20,112	$407,716	$2,685	4.6%	1.0%	1.5%	124	105	224	96	4,034	46	53	20	1.8%	112
Waterloo	ON	2.6%	99	109,671	$557,790	$3,466	3.9%	1.2%	4.5%	166	119	208	116	5,112	61	60	86	2.0%	105
London	ON	2.7%	107	406,462	$361,543	$2,562	3.3%	0.9%	5.0%	168	122	223	122	6,798	77	67	446	2.3%	108
Aurora	ON	2.7%	95	59,946	$1,212,006	$5,055	1.8%	0.3%	5.5%	165	120	221	119	2,749	34	36	31	2.8%	92
Hamilton	ON	2.5%	100	570,654	$561,524	$2,700	2.3%	0.5%	5.4%	156	118	227	120	4,550	63	81	569	1.9%	111
Barrie	ON	2.3%	105	150,096	$561,670	$2,717	2.6%	0.5%	4.2%	156	114	208	113	4,341	50	55	195	2.0%	101
Peterborough	ON	2.5%	81	84,009	$358,721	$2,267	4.1%	1.3%	2.9%	160	120	195	117	5,404	64	83	187	1.9%	117
Brampton	ON	2.4%	75	657,141	$924,715	$3,197	1.1%	0.2%	6.9%	146	113	229	122	2,997	43	51	343	1.1%	105
Greater Sudbury	ON	2.1%	120	165,645	$348,202	$2,227	2.9%	0.5%	3.3%	167	108	187	96	4,875	64	61	151	1.3%	109
Niagara-on-the-Lake	ON	2.8%	100	18,026	$651,023	$3,785	1.3%	0.5%	0.9%	151	117	238	128	3,900	50	37	4	3.2%	127
Gatineau	QC	2.2%	108	288,092	$324,369	$2,000	2.9%	1.2%	10.9%	161	118	216	117	5,384	60	63	145	1.4%	67
Uxbridge	ON	2.7%	81	22,471	$937,410	$4,099	2.4%	0.2%	2.9%	143	110	221	119	2,749	34	36	11	1.6%	107
Calgary	AB	1.5%	138	1,359,777	$563,463	$2,096	3.0%	0.8%	10.2%	112	68	171	87	5,275	74	62	1430	1.9%	101
Dorval	QC	3.2%	124	19,900	$483,123	$3,158	2.8%	0.8%	12.3%	163	119	218	117	4,594	72	96	18	2.5%	102
Ajax	ON	2.6%	81	127,977	$896,749	$3,900	1.5%	0.3%	10.5%	146	123	239	100	3,251	40	48	80	1.8%	96
Pickering	ON	3.0%	81	98,642	$754,649	$4,216	1.7%	0.2%	8.2%	146	123	239	100	3,251	40	48	50	2.5%	105
North Grenville	ON	2.7%	142	16,858	$393,970	$3,376	2.4%	0.3%	2.6%	162	119	202	111	2,663	31	21	6	1.3%	96
Chatham-Kent	ON	2.6%	93	103,934	$234,031	$2,172	2.5%	0.5%	1.0%	137	118	247	132	5,094	66	37	75	0.8%	126
Clarington	ON	2.6%	81	98,586	$626,102	$3,548	1.9%	0.3%	3.8%	146	123	219	111	3,251	40	48	17	1.7%	101
Oshawa	ON	2.6%	81	170,445	$551,164	$2,696	2.4%	0.3%	5.1%	146	123	239	100	3,251	40	48	115	1.4%	109
Elliot Lake	ON	2.2%	120	10,645	$135,993	$1,390	3.5%	0.9%	1.9%	137	95	189	92	5,286	57	62	3	0.6%	118
Vaughan	ON	2.5%	75	332,250	$1,359,665	$4,572	1.2%	0.2%	6.7%	137	108	212	117	2,749	34	36	222	1.8%	93
Pointe-Claire	QC	3.8%	124	32,687	$464,113	$4,260	2.5%	0.6%	11.1%	163	119	218	117	4,594	72	96	61	3.1%	106
Windsor	ON	2.7%	93	223,601	$263,959	$2,032	2.5%	0.7%	2.3%	150	120	249	139	6,186	85	77	378	1.0%	112
Whitby	ON	2.7%	81	136,657	$763,391	$4,078	1.6%	0.3%	7.4%	146	123	239	100	3,251	40	48	81	2.0%	101
Georgina	ON	2.6%	95	49,318	$606,065	$2,764	2.2%	0.3%	2.8%	156	114	208	113	2,749	34	36	27	1.2%	110
Brant	ON	2.5%	100	38,724	$513,049	$2,968	1.7%	0.2%	0.5%	136	114	218	125	2,763	34	23	13	1.7%	122
Brantford	ON	2.6%	100	103,062	$379,691	$2,328	2.1%	0.4%	1.8%	136	114	218	125	7,331	95	96	94	1.5%	113
Quinte West	ON	2.4%	137	44,574	$318,140	$2,385	2.7%	0.4%	1.0%	153	120	217	118	3,342	39	51	21	0.8%	120
Orillia	ON	2.4%	105	32,967	$418,066	$2,078	4.0%	1.1%	3.5%	161	119	210	104	6,938	67	73	69	1.8%	116
Whitchurch-Stouffville	ON	2.2%	95	50,099	$1,952,512	$4,910	1.5%	0.2%	4.0%	165	120	221	119	2,749	34	36	10	2.4%	94
Hawkesbury	ON	2.2%	142	10,419	$246,528	$1,516	4.8%	0.9%	1.9%	135	104	198	114	7,209	79	76	22	0.4%	80
Sault Ste. Marie	ON	2.5%	120	73,725	$238,013	$2,282	2.7%	0.6%	3.1%	176	110	191	94	5,830	77	63	141	1.1%	119
Brockville	ON	2.4%	137	21,261	$294,524	$2,037	5.5%	0.6%	1.4%	155	119	227	111	8,936	80	84	48	1.2%	117
King	ON	2.6%	95	26,697	$1,428,993	$6,224	1.5%	0.0%	3.3%	135	106	206	114	2,749	34	36	9	2.6%	109
North Glengarry	ON	2.4%	142	10,192	$257,396	$2,115	4.1%	0.5%	1.7%	149	109	196	113	7,997	80	96	6	1.4%	116
Sarnia	ON	2.7%	93	73,268	$277,038	$2,784	2.0%	0.7%	1.4%	150	117	233	121	7,276	82	68	80	0.8%	121
Grimsby	ON	2.6%	100	27,975	$634,400	$3,546	1.8%	0.4%	1.6%	163	135	244	121	3,900	50	37	17	2.2%	110
Ingersoll	ON	2.7%	107	13,134	$349,998	$2,678	2.6%	1.2%	0.7%	165	124	223	119	3,549	40	28	12	1.6%	114
Clarence-Rockland	ON	2.0%	142	25,356	$352,625	$2,586	2.6%	0.2%	6.2%	155	122	200	113	2,540	28	26	2	1.0%	95
Victoria	BC	1.1%	176	89,659	$654,020	$930	13.5%	5.8%	9.2%	155	152	319	79	11,156	119	116	318	4.3%	109
Mississauga	ON	2.6%	75	791,672	$811,224	$3,333	1.4%	0.3%	8.9%	126	111	242	103	2,997	43	51	560	1.6%	93
Guelph	ON	2.3%	99	137,187	$633,889	$2,736	3.4%	1.1%	5.5%	167	127	206	113	4,879	55	49	158	1.6%	101
Niagara Falls	ON	2.7%	100	90,428	$405,669	$2,507	2.2%	0.5%	1.7%	171	132	241	124	3,900	50	37	94	1.7%	115
North Bay	ON	2.1%	120	54,285	$307,561	$1,948	4.7%	1.0%	3.2%	180	116	190	91	5,663	66	82	80	1.3%	112
Strathroy-Caradoc	ON	2.6%	107	21,919	$304,826	$2,551	2.4%	0.4%	0.6%	152	117	227	123	2,734	35	34	14	1.2%	119
Midland	ON	2.7%	105	17,735	$359,366	$2,251	4.1%	0.9%	1.3%	164	112	200	109	6,178	66	93	34	1.6%	120
Kitchener	ON	2.3%	99	244,880	$507,281	$2,407	2.5%	0.6%	4.5%	166	119	208	116	5,112	61	60	249	1.5%	104
Vancouver	BC	1.5%	177	672,719	$1,514,621	$1,649	7.7%	2.8%	18.4%	171	167	331	53	8,718	114	98	958	5.6%	103
North Vancouver	BC	1.5%	159	56,176	$997,974	$1,439	7.5%	1.6%	14.0%	181	179	297	81	8,507	81	44	162	4.1%	93
Saanich	BC	2.0%	176	116,964	$832,569	$2,586	3.7%	3.0%	8.0%	159	156	334	71	3,828	40	33	127	2.4%	113
Welland	ON	2.7%	100	53,482	$330,936	$2,262	1.9%	0.7%	1.0%	152	126	227	126	3,900	50	37	42	1.3%	120
Saskatoon	SK	2.2%	118	274,104	$421,338	$2,515	2.9%	1.2%	3.5%	109	65	170	104	10,499	128	129	602	1.8%	108
Fredericton	NB	1.6%	113	62,020	$305,356	$1,565	4.9%	1.0%	2.7%	149	115	192	104	6,565	73	61	122	2.9%	107
Kelowna	BC	1.6%	137	134,234	$638,667	$1,922	3.7%	1.9%	2.8%	137	108	215	123	11,579	116	68	262	0.9%	106
Squamish	BC	1.8%	159	21,421	$706,062	$2,280	3.4%	2.2%	1.9%	178	173	299	93	8,413	81	63	29	3.0%	114
Nelson	BC	1.5%	173	10,746	$396,369	$1,303	13.8%	2.2%	2.4%	163	128	262	115	10,630	85	61	33	3.2%	106
Kenora	ON	2.4%	135	16,126	$347,395	$2,312	5.0%	1.1%	0.7%	153	89	186	91	9,007	78	105	21	1.5%	109
Centre Wellington	ON	2.6%	99	29,193	$531,477	$3,222	3.1%	0.4%	1.0%	179	130	208	106	2,186	25	16	24	1.9%	120
Leamington	ON	2.4%	93	28,118	$293,568	$2,007	2.8%	0.4%	0.2%	129	111	246	124	4,084	45	38	36	0.5%	123
Weyburn	SK	2.0%	77	11,649	$301,846	$2,590	4.7%	0.8%	0.8%	136	86	169	110	7,809	74	53	6	1.2%	110
Adjala-Tosorontio	ON	2.7%	95	11,569	$871,112	$4,503	0.9%	0.1%	1.2%	155	115	216	122	2,906	35	32	0	1.5%	112
St. Thomas	ON	2.8%	107	40,193	$247,588	$2,330	2.6%	0.8%	0.6%	159	133	230	128	3,628	42	50	45	1.4%	115
Timmins	ON	2.1%	120	41,629	$212,922	$2,131	3.3%	0.6%	3.1%	184	107	159	89	7,635	92	129	40	1.2%	112
Thunder Bay	ON	2.6%	135	109,015	$295,449	$2,408	3.0%	0.8%	2.7%	143	91	162	85	6,784	89	130	192	1.1%	117
Stratford	ON	2.5%	107	32,480	$417,076	$2,439	6.6%	2.1%	1.8%	165	118	216	112	5,061	53	29	62	1.2%	117
Longueuil	QC	2.2%	96	248,943	$315,177	$1,781	2.4%	0.8%	13.5%	165	120	206	118	3,724	50	57	183	1.8%	61
Lévis	QC	2.0%	106	147,403	$309,397	$2,088	2.7%	0.5%	4.4%	175	118	195	94	2,784	31	28	59	2.0%	64
Regina	SK	2.0%	106	232,654	$410,876	$2,325	3.0%	0.7%	3.4%	114	75	153	107	10,545	132	133	367	1.6%	110
South Dundas	ON	2.3%	142	11,105	$267,153	$2,168	2.7%	0.6%	0.9%	171	129	209	118	2,755	32	26	5	1.5%	117
Caledon	ON	2.8%	75	73,540	$954,983	$4,810	1.2%	0.2%	2.3%	151	112	195	105	2,245	27	22	28	2.2%	102
Saugeen Shores	ON	2.7%	107	14,109	$502,673	$4,099	4.5%	0.9%	2.3%	163	117	209	110	5,113	53	44	7	0.6%	121
Trois-Rivières	QC	2.3%	110	137,525	$209,497	$1,677	3.0%	0.7%	2.3%	161	120	197	104	4,295	51	49	192	2.0%	69
Prince Edward County	ON	2.6%	137	25,014	$463,076	$2,858	2.5%	0.3%	1.1%	153	123	224	119	3,396	43	35	26	1.6%	115
Woodstock	ON	2.4%	107	42,285	$383,988	$2,278	3.0%	0.8%	1.2%	158	124	217	122	5,286	91	132	37	1.7%	113
Wilmot	ON	2.5%	99	21,485	$572,071	$3,421	2.4%	0.8%	1.8%	128	101	210	117	5,112	61	60	2	2.0%	117
Kamloops	BC	1.7%	122	92,100	$464,689	$1,967	3.2%	1.0%	2.9%	106	83	246	132	13,618	128	99	132	0.6%	108