Some pretty good descriptions of the vibes for sure, Victoria ones seem close as well.
Edmonton: Very friendly, helpful, courteous drivers, genuine people, creative, yet at times bleak, sad, sterile (yet there is a stark underlying beauty in that at times), you see lots of rich and poor, yet little interaction between the two.
Calgary: Only been once so unfair to judge, but why not. Meh.. just didn't seem interesting, sterile downtown, pedestrian unfriendly as you walk by giant parking garage entrances and other blank spaces. I'm sure the vibe is much better in the summer vs. end of March when I went. People seemed to be lost in their own thoughts as they walk by.
Regina: Weird mix.. some downtown streets felt like they were close to being a major Canadian city, while others felt like a town of 10,000. Lots of parking lots, dangerous vibe at night (liquor store where everything is locked up and they pick it out for you). Yet some good restaurants, friendly passionate people.
Ottawa: Been there several times, but the first impression from the drive in was soo underwhelming.. this is our national capital?! To be fair it was early spring, it was dirty with snow melting still, roads were beat up with lots of potholes.. parts of downtown were underwhelming. But.. then you find the cool parts..great city to walk in, great Shawarma!! Good pubs and restaurants, huge Lebanese presence, and very multicultural, many beautiful buildings. People weren't over friendly, but just matter of fact. It's a good city.
Victoria:
An incredible contradiction as someone else referenced before about a granny sipping tea yet talking about the orgy she would be hosting later. You see this contradiction within people, not even between groups.
This is one strange city.. there is pretty much not ever a time I'm walking downtown that I don't stop, turn around and say "WTF was that...". Far more so than any other city.. Vancouver is just plain normal, I swear it's hard to pinpoint what is normal in Victoria. To some degree that's due to the high percentage of mentally ill wandering around and making their home on the streets, but most people have their quirks, and they're on full display, whether that's behaviour or appearance. You won't see many business suits, you won't see much high fashion either.. high fashion would be what you sewn yourself or got from a vintage clothing store. Most people on the streets of downtown look working class, poor or hippie with the inevitable west coast yoga/running element as well.
Victoria hates big money/corporations. Thus, there are no billboards permitted, none. Store signs are not allowed to be too large. Local restaurants, pubs, grocery stores, breweries, coffee shops, ice cream makers, etc are given god like status. Chain restaurants or anything not local or from Vancouver Island are scoffed at and viewed with contempt.
This reflects an overwhelming insular attitude.. in part no doubt due to being on an island, and most people not wanting to be like the dreaded Vancouver. People also have a smug superiority, they can't be bothered to defend or debate the merits of the city, they just think it's the best in Canada, but don't want anyone else coming here to muck it up.
Which leads to another contradiction..those same people complain and criticize everything that goes on locally, and see the city going to hell in a hand basket.
Victoria loves order, cleanliness, rules and hates people breaking them, unless they are breaking the rules themselves, then it's all ok. Which explains the highest percentage of pot stores by far in the country, and pretty much anything is ok on the streets from open drug use, to people slowly walking across the middle of busy streets while cars patiently let them wander through. A huge debate this summer was a dog who has sat outside the family furniture store downtown for years getting a ticket for not being on a leash, while about 200 people took over and trashed a downtown park and made it a tent city, yet they were provided with showers, washrooms, free meals, etc. People looking for stolen property would have to ask politely the gatekeeper if they could check to see if their item was inside.. sometimes they would emerge with the bike, sometimes not.
A city where the wealthy keep quiet, enjoying their enclaves, while there is a large hardcore radical element.
Overall the people are very friendly, genuine, will go out of their way to help you. They are super chill.. people love relaxing in any form possible, work is for suckers, and many will accept less income to work less. When they're not relaxing, they're bitching.. but then go back to relaxing. But yes, on the streets, you'll see people smiling.. they move slowly, they are chill, very content, until they feel that urge to bitch about how the city isn't perfect yet.