Toronto has retained its title of Canada's most expensive city for the second year in a row, according to the results of Mercer's Cost of Living Survey released on Wednesday.

But for all the talk of declining affordability and runaway housing prices in Toronto, it may come as a surprise to learn that the famously-expensive metropolis doesn't rank particularly high on the Cost of Living Survey's list of 227 global cities across five continents.

Toronto is just the 90th most expensive city in the world for 2023, a minor improvement from the 89th spot the city earned the year before.

Trailing Toronto (which is a good thing in lists like these), Vancouver slid eight spots down the list but holds onto its position as Canada's second-most expensive city at 116th place. Montreal dropped ten spots to 135th place, Ottawa fell five spots to 137th, and Calgary moved down four spots to 145th place.

Nicole Stewart, Senior Principal and Office Business Leader Career at Mercer Canada, notes the "domestic inflationary pressures that are affecting overall quality of living," while also acknowledging that the country "continues to be an attractive destination for remote workers."

"Extensive remote work flexibility is causing many employees to re-shift their priorities and think differently about where they want to work and live, and this will continue to force organizations to develop effective compensation strategies for their globally distributed workforces," added Stewart.

The annual study cites Canada's ongoing period of economic stagnation, where the country's GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2022 and growth slowed to just 3.5 per cent over the entire year, declining from 5 per cent in 2021.

High inflation rates proved another factor in rising living costs, though overall inflation rates have decreased in 2023 to 5.2 per cent in February 2023 compared to the stratospheric 8.1 per cent figure seen last June.

A full ranking of the 227 global cities can be found on Mercer's Cost of Living Survey website.

Here are the top 100 most expensive cities for 2023:

1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
2. Singapore, Singapore
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Basel, Switzerland
6. New York City, United States
7. Bern, Switzerland
8. Tel Aviv, Israel
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Nassau, Bahamas
11. Los Angeles, United States
12. Shanghai, China
13. Beijing, China
14. San Francisco, United States
15. Honolulu, United States
16. Seoul, South Korea
17. London, United Kingdom
18. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19. Tokyo, Japan
20. Shenzhen, China
21. Boston, United States
22. Miami, United States
23. Washington, DC, United States
24. Chicago, United States
25. Vienna, Austria
26. Bangui, Central African Republic
27. Djibouti, Djibouti
28. Amsterdam, Netherlands
29. Atlanta, United States
30. Luanda, Angola
31. Seattle, United States
32. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
33. Prague, Czech Republic
34. Helsinki, Finland
35. Paris, France
36. Guangzhou, China
37. Berlin, Germany
38. Munich, Germany
39. Conakry, Guinea Republic
40. N'Djamena, Chad
41. Brussels, Belgium
42. Victoria, Seychelles
43. Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates
44. San Juan, Puerto Rico
45. Buenos Aires, Argentina
46. The Hague, Netherlands
47. Lagos, Nigeria
48. Frankfurt, Germany
49. Milan, Italy
50. Philadelphia, United States
51. Dublin, Ireland
52. Libreville, Gabon
53. Dallas, United States
54. Montevideo, Uruguay
55. Qingdao, China
56. Sydney, Australia
57. Taipei, Taiwan
58. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
59. Rome, Italy
60. Oslo, Norway
61. Houston, United States
62. Hamburg, Germany
63. San Jose, Costa Rica
64. Riga, Latvia
65. Pittsburgh, United States
66. Dakar, Senegal
67. Minneapolis, United States
68. Busan, South Korea
69. Stuttgart, Germany
70. Noumea, New Caledonia
71. Melbourne, Australia
72. Portland, United States
73. Nanjing, China
74. Dusseldorf, Germany
75. Barcelona, Spain
76. Shenyang, China
77. Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire
78. St. Louis, United States
79. Mexico City, Mexico
80. Detroit, United States
81. Douala, Cameroon
82. Brisbane, Australia
83. Madrid, Spain
84. Brazzaville, Republic Of Congo
85. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
86. Edinburgh, United Kingdom
87. Santiago, Chile
88. Cleveland, United States
89. Chengdu, China
90. Toronto, Canada
91. Leipzig, Germany
92. Lyon, France
93. Osaka, Japan
94. Canberra, Australia
95. Stockholm, Sweden
96. Nuremberg, Germany
97. Athens, Greece
98. Manama, Bahrain
99. Chongqing, China
100. Tallinn, Estonia