Which Two Canadian Metros Are Really In Sync With Each Other
Just for discussion.
Real synergy between both such as travel ,trade, shared local cultures etc. I'm discounting Ottawa and Gatineau because of them being essentially one metro. I feel there's a bit of a disconnect with Montreal and Ottawa. I travelled the Ontario side to Montreal enough times, and the traffic volume has always been a little underwheming to me considering there's +/- 6.0 million people between the two metros which are just under 2.0 hours apart.I realize that traffic volume isn't exactly the benchmark for two metros being in sync, but I also can't think of two metros in Canada that are this close with entirety different M.O'S. OTOH, I've run into more people from Kingston either through business or travel, so I would say Kingston/Ottawa may be a good example of two metros in harmony with each other. Which two metros do you feel really click and have a lot of of back and forth together? Montreal/QC? Hamilton/Toronto? The obvious ones? Are there any more examples of two that are in close proximity to each other and that you would think there would be a strong connection, but there just isn't, like a Mars and Venus scenario? Inversely, which two do you feel have the most? |
Calgary/Edmonton is the most obvious one to me.
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Saskatoon and Regina. Even though their corridor isn't urbanized the same way Calgary and Edmonton's are, they both anchor a large region with their economic regions overlapping.
Also, I know you said Canadian, but Detroit-Windsor for sure. |
In terms of national significance... Toronto/Ottawa and Montreal.
In terms of actual connection, even if only regionally significant... Calgary/Edmonton. If we bring it down to separate municipalities but even within the same CMA, then I think Victoria and St. John's are probably the most integrated/nonsensically separated into different municipalities. There's also a very interesting dynamic between New Brunswick's three cities. They're very connected, but they're also separate. They're almost like... Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. So different, so separate, but part of the same country. Instead it's Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton - different, but part of the same province, and connected on some medium-importance level. |
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That's a great example, and I may post a similar thread in the City Discussions as well. |
Vancouver and Victoria are strongly connected and well integrated, despite the water barrier. As the only two Canadian true cities in the region they look to one another. They aren't rivals as they each have their own naturally determined hinterlands. They share much in common as the two cities of coastal BC, and differ in their layouts, economies, and lifestyles from cities in the interior.
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If you expand this beyond only two metros, than KWC plus Guelph would be another example.
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I think that Hamilton and Niagara are pretty in sync with each other, maybe even more so than Hamilton and Toronto.
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K-W and Guelph, I would say.
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Westmount and Montreal-West. Also, Pointe-Claire and D.D.O.
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In sync, to me means 'working together and completing each other'. I think that we can exclude the 2 'real' big cities as they are their own islands, if not planets. Montreal looks favourably to Quebec City as a place for an interesting getaway... but not more. Quaint and charming, but that's it. Lord knows Toronto doesn't need anybody else. As for Ottawa and Kingston, the larger city in any given region always acts as magnet for various things... Education, employment, etc... How many people from Ottawa do you meet in Kingston? Not many save for weekend day trippers. Besides, Kingston is kind of too small to be considered seriously. So no, not in my opinion.
The obvious 2 cities are Calgary and Edmonton. Almost identical in size and quite different (but complimenting) in activity. Corporate types vs engineers and civil servants, business vs the arts, office vs playground, etc. They both treat the other like a red headed step child (as all close/rival cities do) but are basically non-identical twins forever in need of each other. |
Toronto and Waterloo region because of Hi-Tech.
The bullet train between the two cities would be a bonus. |
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Like all alpha cities. |
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Another thing I noticed - far more Leafs fans than Senators fans in Kingston. That said, Ottawa Bluesfest and the Canal seem to be popular day trips for Kingston residents, as I recall. Kingston is also more within Ottawa's media influence than Toronto's, as CBC Radio there comes from Ottawa and both the CTV and CBC TV channels are from Ottawa. Ottawa's airport is also arguably much easier to get to than Toronto's. Ottawa's is in the south end close enough to Highway 416 while Toronto's is on the west side, more convenient for someone from London or K-W. In some ways Kingston is also quite connected with Watertown, New York. There is media influence from TV and radio from Watertown, and there's quite a bit of cross-border traffic. New York license plates are a common site in Kingston, and Ontario license plates are a common site in Watertown. When the dollar was more favourable, at least half the plates in the parking lot at Watertown's main mall were from Ontario. |
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How about London and Windsor? You would think that London and Windsor would have this at some level, but I suspect it's a Mars and Venus scenario with Windsor being tied to Detroit and London being more white collar.
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Kapuskasing and Moonbeam
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North Bay and Sudbury? |
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