Spectators cheer during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, 2012. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)
Yahoo News: Canada ranks first in world for personal freedom and social tolerance
O Canada: you might be the land of the free now.
A new study reveals that the United States’ neighbor to the north has the “freest country in the world,” with the greatest tolerance for immigrants worldwide.
Canada’s ranking as the top nation in the world for personal freedom can be found in the Legatum Institute’s 2015 Prosperity Index. The London-based international public policy think tank released its findings Monday.
Typically, a country’s prosperity has been based on its material wealth, but at the Legatum Institute, this data is studied along with quality-of-life metrics.
“By combining those two types of data, the objective and the subjective, we really get a more complete picture of prosperity around the world,” Nathan Gamester, program director for the Prosperity Index, said in an interview with Yahoo News.
WNU Editor: They are of course publishing this right AFTER the Canadian federal election. Too bad .... I am sure former Canadian Prime Minister Harper would have used that in his campaign. But is it accurate .... not really. I live in Quebec .... minorities and immigrants are not welcomed or tolerated. And as for freedom .... put up a sign that is only in English in Montreal .... be ready for the threats and fines. And for business .... I can only speak for Quebec, but high taxes and regulations makes it impossible to get ahead .... especially if you are a young entrepreneur or small business. And while the "quality of life" is probably better here than most other places .... that actually reflects more poorly on the other countries that are on the list .... and not on what Canada is doing right or wrong.