Victoria, British Columbia is certainly hooked on a feeling and that feeling is love. For the seventh consecutive year, Victoria is crowned Canada’s Most Romantic City, as announced today by Amazon Canada. British Columbia’s capital isn’t the only city in western Canada where residents had love on the brain: North Vancouver, Courtenay, Vancouver, Langley and Port Coquitlam also claimed spots on this year’s list.
The tenth annual ranking was compiled by comparing sales data from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2019 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 20,000 residents. The data looks at purchases of romance novels (both print and Kindle editions), romantic comedies, relationship books, jewellery and sexual wellness products.
This year, the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in Canada are:
- Victoria, British Columbia
- LaSalle, Quebec
- Fort McMurray, Alberta
- North Vancouver, British Columbia
- Spruce Grove, Alberta
- Whitehorse, Yukon
- Kelowna, British Columbia
- Sherwood Park, Alberta
- Courtenay, British Columbia
- Bowmanville, Ontario (new)
- Grande Prairie, Alberta
- Airdrie, Alberta
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Oakville, Ontario
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Langley, British Columbia
- Burlington, Ontario
- North Bay, Ontario
- Aurora, Ontario (new)
- Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (new)
A closer look at the data revealed:
- Champions of Romance: If taking the top spot seven years in a row wasn’t enough, Victoria had a clean sweep, ranking number one with the most purchases across all five of the romance product categories.
- Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: With a stereo in hand and love in their hearts, Kelowna, Oakville, Vancouver, Langley and Burlington made triumphant returns to the list after an unsuccessful trial separation from the list in recent years.
- Smiling from Ear to Ear: Victoria, LaSalle, and Fort McMurray took the top three spots with the most purchases in the jewellery category. Earrings were the most popular gift, making up 50 per cent of all jewellery purchases across Canada.
- Budding Romance: Three cities took a chance on love as Bowmanville, Aurora, and Port Coquitlam made the list for the first time.
Top romantic product highlights:
- Canadians Keep Falling in Love with Julia Roberts: For the second year in a row Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, was the best-selling romantic movie.
- Page Turners, Tear Jerkers: The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness beat out Call Me by Your Name: A Novel by André Aciman to top the list of most sold romantic books. While Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis topped the list for relationship books.
To browse the Amazon.ca selection of deals and gift ideas for Valentine’s Day – and help contribute to next year’s romantic city rankings – visit www.amazon.ca/valentinesday.
