We recently wrote about the Top 10 Places to Retire in Canada. But what if you’re coming to Canada to work?

According to MoneySense magazine’s 2009 Best Places to Live survey, the Top 5 best places to work in Canada are all in Alberta.

The Number 1 city for working in Canada is Calgary, the survey found, followed by Brooks, Cold Lake, Grande Prairie, and Edmonton. Relatively high salaries, comparatively low unemployment, and above-average discretionary income levels are factors weighing in these Alberta cities’ favor.

Rounding out the top 10 are Estevan, SK; Levis, QC (just outside of Quebec City); Winnipeg, MB; and Red Deer, AB.

Of course, with the recession nipping at the Canadian job market, even high-flying Alberta isn’t immune. Still, compared to other parts of the country, Alberta is doing OK, job-wise. In June, for example, Alberta’s Employment and Immigration Ministry reported that:

Alberta’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.8% in June 2009, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from May and the third lowest in the country behind Saskatchewan’s 4.6% and Manitoba’s 5.2%. The national average was 8.6%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.

So, where is the worst place to work in Canada? Ironically, the survey found that the worst place to work was also the best place for fun — Montreal.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller