Canada lands on new ranking of world's best countries

Canada made it on a prestigious list of the world's best countries, but its position might surprise you.

Almost 800,000 people have weighed in, and Canada was named one of the
20 best countries in the world in Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards.

Canada made a rare appearance on the annual list, which the publication says is due to its safeness and "huge backpack of outdoor activities."

The country came in last but certainly not least, taking the 20th position with an overall score of 88.97.

The Readers' Choice Awards scores were based on ratings from hundreds of thousands of readers between April 1 and June 30, 2026. Readers rated destinations on a five-point scale from "excellent" to "poor," with the results converted to percentages and then averaged.

CN Traveler shouts out Canada's picturesque vistas in the Rockies, and the beautiful landscapes of British Columbia and Newfoundland (a province that's also been getting a lot of international recognition lately).

"Few countries can match Canada for sheer variety," the publication wrote.

But it seems sheer variety wasn't quite enough to secure a higher spot in the popular ranking, with Canada coming in dead last behind Qatar, France, India and other beautiful destinations from around the world. Stiff competition, we get it.

Here are the top 20 best countries in the world:

20. Canada
19. Qatar
18. France
17. India
16. Cambodia
15. New Zealand
14. Vietnam
13. Norway
12. Spain
11. South Africa
10. Thailand
9. Kenya
8. Indonesia
7. Croatia
6. Costa Rica
5. Portugal
4. Turkey
3. Italy
2. Japan
1. Greece

Plenty of other Canadian destinations and properties received love from CN Traveler in other categories.

Victoria was crowned the best small city in the world, while Montreal, Quebec, ranked among the top 10 best big cities in the world.

Some ski resorts in British Columbia and Alberta were recognized as being some of the best in North America, and the iconic Rocky Mountaineer was named one of the best train rides in the world.

To read more about CN Traveler's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, visit their website.