Mississauga ranked #7 top city for youth to work in Canada, Brampton gets nod for diversity
Published May 30, 2023 at 12:22 pm
Mississauga is among the top 10 youthful cities as a place appealing for young people to work and Brampton was singled out for its diversity in a new index.
RBC and Youthful Cities announced the results of the 2023 Urban Work Index, which ranks top cities for young people to work in.
Youthful Cities is a social enterprise that “creates data-driven solutions to make cities better,” according to their website.
The 2023 Urban Work Index ranked 30 Canadian cities on a range of topics, including climate action, equity, diversity and inclusion, good youth jobs, education and training, digital access, city economy, entrepreneurial spirit, affordability, transportation and health.
Mississauga ranked seventh just behind Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa-Gatineau but ahead of Quebec City and Laval.
Toronto was ranked the top city for young people to work in, followed by Montreal, and Vancouver.
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Mississauga, with a youth (aged 15 to 29 years old) population of 148,065, got a boost in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion category, ranking second, and came in fourth for Climate Action, according to RBC and Youthful Cities.
Ranking sixth in Entrepreneurial Spirit, Mississauga also offers its youth opportunities and networks for invention.
However, Mississauga scores poorly for high Cost of Living, ranking 29th. This creates a barrier to it being an accessible place for youth to work and live.
Breakdown of Mississauga’s strengths and weaknesses:
- Strength: 53.2 per cent of the population are immigrants vs a national average of 26.7 per cent.
- Strength: 53.9 per cent of the population speak a mother tongue other than English or French versus a national average of 29 per cent.
- Room for improvement: Youth in Mississauga have an average deficit of $-534.56 per month, compared to an average national surplus of $148.89 per month after expenses and incomes are taken into account.
Brampton was 17th in the 30 Canadian cities but earned special recognition for diversity.
Ranking first in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion category, Brampton has the highest population of immigrants per capita and a high population with a non-official first language.
“It also has strong municipal policies for anti-racism and anti-discrimination, as well as accessible public spaces,” the report notes.
The city ranked seventh for Entrepreneurial Spirit and sixth for City Economy. Although it ranked 28th for education, it has one of the lowest annual tuition rates for international students, which may make it more accessible for its youth population of 153,615.
Breakdown of Brampton’s strengths and weaknesses:
- Strength: Ranked first for diversity with over 50 per cent of the population speaking a mother tongue other than English or French.
- Strength: Ranked sixth for most affordable tuition for international students.
- Room for improvement: Third lowest opportunity for home ownership (based on annual after tax income of 25-34 year olds to benchmark home price).
RBC hopes the results will provide key information to young people across Canada about the most inclusive and accessible places to work in Canada, sparking a national dialogue on the future of urban work and youth’s critical role in it.
Choosing where to live is one of the biggest decisions for young people starting their careers, said Mark Beckles, vice president, Social Impact & Innovation, RBC.
“Our partnership with Youthful Cities allows us to bring together governments, public and private sector partners, city builders and young people to explore the topic of urban work – what’s working well and what needs to improve,” said Beckles.
The ten topics in the rankings were identified in consultation with youth at the Urban Work Summit Edmonton 2019. The data was collected across 30 cities and reviewed for accuracy and relevancy.
Cities were scored and feature scaled on each measurement, receiving between 0 and 100 points. Scores were weighted based on a survey of how important each topic is to youth, producing the final ranking.
For the complete list and further information, see 2023 Urban Work Index.
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