With its vast and varied landscapes, unparalleled scenery and excellent access to the Great Outdoors, Canada has always been a popular choice among expats who feel the need to get back to nature on a regular basis. The robust economy, notoriously friendly people and familiar culture means that it has been particularly favoured by British expats – those that meet the stringent entry requirements – as one of the top countries in the world in which to set up a new life overseas.
Granted, most of the country does get a little bit nippy come winter (temperatures in the cold season often drop to an average of -10 degrees Celsius in some regions), but the high quality of life and large, multicultural expat population indicates that a little thing like the weather isn’t putting people off moving to Canada.
Expats might have known for some time that Canada is something special (it was recently rated sixth best country in the world in the HSBC Expat Explorer survey), but now its reputation has been further solidified by the most recent survey from international consultants the Reputation Institute. Since the annual RepTrak survey came into being back in 2010, Canada has been named the world’s most reputable country every year, save two. And in those two years it never dropped to a position lower than second place.
The RepTrak survey is renowned as one of the largest surveys in the world that gauges how well a country is regarded globally. The 2015 survey measured three key elements in order to judge the public perception of 55 countries around the world. These were: effective government, appealing environment, and advanced economy.
Canada reclaimed its top spot, knocking last year’s hero, Switzerland, down to fourth place. However, Europe dominated the top ten with Norway coming in as the second most reputable country; Sweden taking third place; and Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium taking sixth, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. Outside of Europe, the other big hitters were Australia which ranked as fifth most reputable, and New Zealand came seventh.
Canada’s title is testament to the country’s popularity among expats, independent travellers and holiday-makers – all groups which demonstrate a desire to visit the country. Fernando Prado, managing director at the Reputation Institute, commented, “When people perceive a country positively based on their direct experiences and through the lens of others, that translates into increased tourism dollars.” Looks like Canada is set to become even more attractive to visitors.
As well as Canada, the United States and Mexico demonstrated improved reputations in the eyes of the world, but while Latin America is also improving in general, Brazil’s reputation is on the decline. Economic improvements in Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain have upped the reputations of these countries and Japan holds the best reputation in Asia. Unfortunately for Russia, though, its reputation has dropped.
Is a country’s reputation its calling card? It certainly goes a long way towards garnering interest from those who might be debating where in the world to study, live or work. Perhaps we will see even more expats considering Canada in the future.
If you are considering a move to Canada, Cadogan Tate will assist you every step of the way – from your first enquiry to unpacking at your new home, we are here to help and advise you. For more details about Cadogan Tate’s specialist international removals services from London, click here.
Information correct at time of publication.