Which restaurant holds the bragging rights as Canada鈥檚 best place to eat? Which Canadian city has the most romantic citizens? Where do the happiest people on Earth live?
Those questions and more were tackled in a series of rankings that made headlines over the past year.
In a nod to the form, CTVNews.ca presents the top 10 most noteworthy lists of 2017.
Canada crowned world鈥檚 best travel destination
Canada started off the year strong, In its mention, the Times gave a shout-out to 鈥渢he turquoise lakes and mountain peaks of Banff in Alberta,鈥� 鈥渢he rolling dunes and red sandstone cliffs of Prince Edward Island,鈥� and 鈥渢he glacial-rounded Mealy Mountains in Labrador.
But don鈥檛 get too smug 鈥� the story also pointed out that a weak loonie meant Americans got more bang for their buck.
Three Canadian cities among world鈥檚 most livable
Out of 140 cities across the globe, three Canadian municipalities ranked in the top five most livable, released in August.
Vancouver was the top-performing Canadian city, coming in at number three, with Toronto in fourth place and Calgary tying Adelaide, Australia for fifth.
The only other country with three cities on the list was Australia, with Melbourne topping the list and Perth ranking sixth.
The considered five core categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
Canadian cities among best for LGBT
You鈥檇 be hard-pressed to find a better city to be LGBT than Toronto. Canada鈥檚 biggest city with Montreal coming in 12th and Vancouver hitting 17th on the list.
The list, compiled by housing aggregator Nestpick, considered criteria such as open-minded citizens, a low level of hate crimes, national laws affecting LGBT citizens and gay-friendly nightlife.
The only other Canadian city to crack the list was Calgary in the 50th spot.
Victoria claims best Canadian city to be a woman; Windsor worst
Victoria is the only city in Canada where more women hold down jobs than men, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which named B.C.鈥檚 capital for the third year in a row.
The CCPA looked at Canada鈥檚 25 largest municipalities and considered women鈥檚 access to positions of leadership, economic security, education, health and personal security.
Other cities near the top included Gatineau (2nd), Hamilton (3rd), Kingston (4th) and Vancouver (5th). For the second year in a row, Windsor came in last place.
Canadians among world鈥檚 happiest people
Happiness is infectious, and Canada has bragging rights to some of the happiest citizens of anywhere on Earth. The World Happiness Report, compiled each year using the Gallop World Poll, calculates how respondents evaluate their own lives from zero to 10, and also considers economic and health data.
behind Nordic countries such as Norway (1st), Denmark (2nd), Iceland (3rd), Switzerland (4th) and Finland (5th).
For international students, Montreal is the best place to study
When September rolls around, there are few university campuses more beautiful than historic McGill, tucked at the foot of Montreal鈥檚 Mount Royal.
That wow factor 鈥� along with affordability, university rankings and student demographics 鈥� earned Montreal The Quebec city鈥檚 win unseated Paris.
Other Canadian cities on the list included Vancouver (10th), Toronto (11th), Ottawa (26th) and Quebec City (72nd).
Vancouver takes bronze in world鈥檚 least affordable housing markets
Canada鈥檚 hot housing markets often make headlines, but in Vancouver, real estate drew international attention for all the wrong reasons in January. Demographia, a U.S. think tank,
The only cities tougher to buy a home, according to the report, were Hong Kong 鈥� the world鈥檚 least affordable market 鈥� and runner-up Sydney, Australia.
The study based its findings off a calculation called the 鈥渕edian multiple鈥�: the median home price in a city divided by the median household income.
Victoria steals hearts as country鈥檚 most romantic city
How do you pinpoint the most romantic place in Canada? Sales of romance novels and lingerie, of course.
Amazon analyzed sales of romance-related products and 鈥� for the fifth straight year 鈥� named Victoria
The research looked at per-capita sales of romance novels, relationship books, romantic comedies, jewelry and sexual wellness products in Canadian communities with populations greater than 80,000.
British Columbia dominated the list, with seven of the top 20 cities in the western province. Runners-up included Abbotsford, B.C., North Vancouver, Grand Prairie, Alta., and Saskatoon.
Love may be tougher to find for urbanites, with Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa left off the list. That, or they buy their romantic goods in person.
Toronto has half of Canada鈥檚 worst traffic bottlenecks
Anyone who鈥檚 driven through Highway 401 in rush hour (or snow, or rain, or construction season) likely isn鈥檛 surprised to learn that Toronto is home to 50 per cent of the country鈥檚 worst bottlenecks, according to a report commissioned by the Canadian Automobile Association.
Only four municipalities made the list: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Quebec City.
to see if your commute falls within the country鈥檚 most notorious routes.
The best place to eat in Canada is鈥�
Montreal鈥檚 famed eatery Joe Beef has earned plenty of international praise 鈥� including an 81st spot on the acclaimed World鈥檚 Best Restaurant list. But a Toronto fine-dining restaurant that opened just two years ago eclipsed the famed eatery in 2017 to become Canada鈥檚 top place to eat,
Alo rocketed from 7th place to number one in just one year, earning top honours from a panel of 82 judges across the country.
Joe Beef still managed a third-place finish, with Montreal鈥檚 Toqué! ranked second.
