Canada has a lot to be proud of; beautiful, sweeping landscapes, stunning wildlife and the best maple syrup in the world, as well as a high quality of life for its diverse, proud citizens. And, of course, as the number one place for all things sports betting, we have to mention Canada’s domination in the wonderful world of ice hockey!
In honour of Canada Day 2025, we’ve decided to dive into the data to determine which Canadian cities best capture the essence of Canada. From hockey rinks to poutine shops, let’s find out which cities are the ultimate Canadian icons!
What Makes a City Stereotypically Canadian?
So, before we get stuck into the ranking, to find out which cities are the most stereotypically Canadian, we took into account four key factors for each:
- Number of ice rinks: Ice hockey is the official winter national sport of Canada, so we wanted to know where you have the best chance of learning to play, practising, or just getting used to the ice.
- Number of Tim Hortons: Tim Hortons is ubiquitous throughout Canada. Founded by the late Tim Horton himself, one of the best ice hockey players of all time, you can’t turn a corner in any Canada without stumbling into one of their stores. But where can you find the most?
- Google searches for ‘O Canada’: This one is pretty self-explanatory; we looked into what cities have the most interest in the national anthem!
- Number of restaurants serving poutine: The origins of poutine are notoriously difficult to pin down, but two things are blatantly true; it is distinctly Canadian, and it has to be cheese curds – not shredded cheese. Listen for the squeak!
The Top Five Most Stereotypically Canadian Cities
So, which cities made it into our top five list?
1. Toronto
One of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto is a shining beacon of the diversity and welcoming nature that truly embodies the Canadian spirit. Toronto came in number one on almost every factor we looked into (only beaten by Montreal’s real love of poutine restaurants), so we think it’s fair to call Toronto the most Canadian city in Canada.
Home to the iconic Toronto Maple Leafs and ‘The Big Train’ Lionel Conacher, Toronto’s iconic sweeping skyline is instantly recognisable for the CN Tower – and, of course, it has the highest population in the country, so objectively it has the most Canadian residents. What could be more patriotic than that?
2. Calgary
Just missing out on the top spot, Calgary comes in second for both the number of Tim Hortons (132) and the searches for the anthem. But given that they’re only being beaten by a city with double the population, we think that still works out pretty well in their favour. It has also been ranked as the fifth most livable city in the world, so they’re representing Canada on the global stage too!
3. Montreal
Montreal has a strong reputation as Canada’s cultural capital, and sports fans can revel in this city’s many claims to fame, including being home to the Montreal Canadiens (record-holders at 24 total Stanley Cup wins) as well as Hall of Fame legends Mario Lemieux and Scotty Bowman. It’s also the only Canadian city to have hosted the summer Olympics!
And, of course, it tops out the list for the highest number of restaurants serving poutine with 159 restaurants – we’re not saying there’s a link between delicious poutine and being a top athlete, but we’re not not saying that.
4. Calgary
Home to the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg narrowly avoided the bottom spot on our list thanks to having the second-highest number of ice rinks (97) – that’s more rinks than Ottawa and Montreal combined!
5. Ottawa
Shockingly, the capital city of Canada is only the fifth most ‘Canadian’ city in the country, with the lowest number of Tim Hortons locations on our list. However, we’ll give Ottawa a pass on this occasion, since it is hosting the official Canada Day celebrations – don’t miss out on creating your own personalized Canada Day trading card!
Support Your Canadian Teams!
There are plenty of ways to show your national pride this Canada Day, and at Canada Sports Betting, we think the best way is to show up for (and have faith in) your favourite Canadian sports teams all year round. Whether you’re into the NHL, NFL or NBA, we’ve got the latest picks, plays and predictions to fuel your Canadian spirit. Check out our top online sportsbook reviews and put your money where your country is today!
Methodology
The data ranks Canadian cities on how stereotypically Canadian they are, based on four factors.
- The number of Tim Hortons locations in each city, as per locations.timhortons.ca/
- The average number of Google searches for the Canadian National Anthem
- The number of indoor and outdoor ice rinks, as per arena-guide.com/
- The number of restaurants in each city that serve poutine, as per tripadvisor.com/
Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalized to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. The normalized values were added together to give each city a total score out of 100, and the cities were then ranked from high to low based on their total score. All data is accurate as of June 6, 2025, based on the sources used.
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