Canada’s Christmas Capitals- Barrie Ontario in the Top 3

A new ranking of Canada’s Christmas Capitals rates the country’s largest cities by the number of Christmas markets, parades, events, lighting displays, and other events currently active or planned for the 2023/2024 holiday season. Expected per-capita Christmas spending was also included in the calculation. Based on all of the criteria above, Halifax is Canada's #1 Christmas Destination!

If you’re from Halifax, Nova Scotia, congratulations. Your city takes the figgy pudding for being the Canadian city with the most holiday spirit, scoring an impressive 65 out of 75 in our rankings.

The runner-up is Barrie, Ontario, which scores better than Halifax on Christmas activity participation but falls behind in holiday spending and holiday-related social media activity.

Kelowna, British Columbia, is also not far behind in third place, scoring near the average in event activity and Christmas spending but knocking it out of the park in holiday spirit on social media.

Just ahead of Barrie, ON and Kelowna, BC, Halifax ranks as Canada’s top Christmas Capital.  A whopping 38.1% of Halifax residents say their city’s holiday events and parades are unique, and 28.6% say that light displays throughout the city make Halifax a sight to see during the Christmas season.

Ontario’s Christmas Capitals Dominate Top 10

Although the top spot went to Halifax, Barrie (#2) is one of 7 Ontario cities ranking in the top 10, including Ottawa (T3), Kingston (#4), and Windsor (T6). BC cities Kelowna (T3), Victoria (T10), and Vancouver (T10), all cracked the top 10. 

More than 9 million people, representing one-quarter of Canada's population, live within a 100-mile radius of Barrie.