Calgary logs 3 outdoor-dinner months a year to Montréal's 5 — Montréal wins by 2. Montréal also leads on frost days by 45.

Calgary runs about $2,741/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Montréal's $2,085/mo — Montréal comes in $656 cheaper each month, roughly 31% less.

On mobility, Montréal scores 3.2 vs Calgary's 2.4 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on walkability. Calgary still holds an edge on airport accessibility.

Montréal's culture score of 4.2 sits well above Calgary's 2.2, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.

Calgary and Montréal score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (4.2 vs 4.0, 0–5 scale).

Calgary's safety score is ~1.3× Montréal's — in the upper band, while Montréal lands in the middle of the scale, with the biggest gap on walking safety. Montréal still holds an edge on wildfire safety.

Montréal's career score of 4.1 sits well above Calgary's 2.9, with the biggest gap on startup ecosystem.

Montréal's social & community score of 3.8 sits well above Calgary's 3.4, with the biggest gap on expat-first community. Calgary still holds an edge on admin english support.

On food & dining, Montréal scores 3.8 vs Calgary's 3.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on brunch availability.

On family, Montréal scores 3.7 vs Calgary's 3.2 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools.

Calgary and Montréal score neck-and-neck on healthcare (2.0 vs 2.0, 0–5 scale).

Calgary averages 8.1 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus Montréal's 8.3 µg/m³ (good) — Calgary breathes ~3% cleaner air (0.3 µg/m³ lower).

Who Thrives Here