I really find all the votes for Calgary a little strange.. I think you people just like the cheques from the province.
In my opinion the best cities in which to LIVE, in Canada, is either Toronto or Montreal.
Montreal has a really neat feel to it, kind of intimate. Privately owned coffee shops and deli's far out numbering the chains. Montreal gets almost every big name concert or entertainment event that enters Canada, nightlife is top of the line, no matter what your tastes are. Montreal also boasts a healthy community for any of the arts. It also has a very good selection of fields for employment, thanks in large part to all of the universities and colleges in the city.
While Montréal has all of this, it still comes short in nearly every category to Toronto; an AMAZING city to live in. the only thing you don't get from Toronto that you do get from Montréal is that intimate feeling, while yes it is there in parts of the city, sometimes in the city with 4.5 million you can feel a little detached, but if you do a "more intimate setting" is generally just around the corner. In Toronto you can do ANYTHING you want to do. There is a facility for everything. The Varity of shops is far greater than Montreal and every other city in Canada pales in comparison, there is a specialty shop for everything. Toronto has so many great communities, like the Dan fourth (Greek), or China Town no city in Canada comes close to the cultural diversity of the city. Not even New York offers a better selection of food, and the only thing Montreal has on Toronto in the food department is Schwartz's. (if you haven't been you HAVE to go - any cab driver can take you there for the BEST Montréal smoked meat). My suggestion in Toronto if you like Thai-fusion food is "Spring Rolls".
Toronto even has Montreal beat with the Jazz bars with Ally Katz, Reservoir Lounge, and The Rex.
If it is sports you are after Toronto is the place to be with a major sports team for nearly every sport.
Employment? - You can get a job doing anything in Toronto - WORLD CLASS schools, with leaders in near every field. In Toronto you can even make a living playing your guitar in the SUBWAY system and I KID YOU NOT!!.
Speaking of the subway, Toronto has done a pretty good job of keeping the whole city accessible without a car. If you are visiting and you don't by a pass, it CAN get a little expensive, but if you are smart you can get around Toronto pretty fast, and pretty cheap.
SO many people think Toronto is horrible for crime, what they don't understand is that 1 it is isolated crime, MOST and I do mean MOST violent crimes are committed by and too the lower class black population. but even still Toronto's crime rate is lower than Vancouver’s or Montréal’s.
The only reason people dislike Toronto is because they think that "Toronto" thinks it is the center of Canada... Well I have news for you folks, IT IS!
To sum it up, if you like city life (greater than 50000 or 75000) then you will love Toronto if you give it a try and live there for just a short time.