Where Canada ranks on list of the most welcoming countries in the world
Canadians are many things: smart, friendly, polite, and, generally speaking, pretty welcoming when it comes to new people moving to the country.
But apparently, we could be doing a little better.
According to InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 survey, which looked at 31 countries based on expats’ experiences with local culture, friendliness, and social connections, Canada landed in 19th place.
Surprisingly, that puts us 10 spots behind the U.S., which many would argue hasn’t exactly been rolling out the welcome mat for newcomers lately.
The ranking looks at three things: how welcome expats feel and how easily they adapt to local culture, how friendly they find local residents, and how easy it is to make friends and build a social circle.
Canada performed best in the local friendliness category, coming in 14th place. But being friendly and making actual friends are two different things. When it came to finding friends and building social connections, Canada slipped to 22nd place.
We also landed in 17th place for culture. It’s a bit surprising considering Canada is such a melting pot of other cultures. We take pride in our diversity, while others consistently applaud us for being so multicultural, so seeing us towards the bottom of this list is a head-scratcher.
One country, however, managed to knock it out of the park across all three categories: Mexico.
“Expats report positive experiences not only with local culture and friendliness, but also with building personal connections,” the report reads.
Panama, Thailand, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates round out the top five most welcoming countries in the world.
And it’s not all sunshine and friendly greetings across the pond, either. According to the survey, some of Europe’s wealthiest countries are among the most challenging places for expats to settle in; Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Germany landed in the bottom four.
You can view the full survey online.