Toronto is slowly stepping into the shadows of its booming suburbs as prosperous businesses look to set up on the outskirts of the city rather than downtown, according to a new report by the Board of Trade.

The city is "attractive and liveable," the report says but the Toronto region received a "C" mark for its overall performance, tying other major metropolises such as Boston, London and New York.

"The results show Toronto is a diverse and attractive place to live, filled with well-educated people, but strong economic performance has not followed in concert," Carol Wilding, Toronto Board of Trade president and CEO, said in a news release.

Several social and economic factors of 20 major urban centres around the world were analyzed in the report, titled "Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity."

On the global urban prosperity scale, Toronto ranked fourth while Calgary topped every other metropolis in the world as the only city receiving an "A" grade.

Vancouver placed eighth but also received a "C" for its overall performance. Quebec City came in 10th with a "C" grade and Montreal placed 13th with a "D" grade.

"Cities are the engines of our national economies," Wilding said. "It is important that we take stock of their general health because their competitiveness is critical to the prosperity of Canada."

Toronto: Attractive to labourers

Toronto's success was measured by the way it compares to the global economy and for its ability to attract and retain workers from around the world.

When it came to measuring Toronto's ability to attract workers, the city ranked first for its immigrant population and third in population growth. It also ranked high for its percentage of the population that has a university education.

Toronto's low homicide rate and affordable housing costs were other positive factors.

Some findings that earned Toronto its "C" grade include:

  • Ranked fourth lowest in annual GDP growth
  • Ranked at the bottom of the list in "disposable income growth" category
  • Stalled "annual productivity growth" behind U.S. cities and exceeding only Barcelona, Montreal, Oslo and Rome.

"This benchmarking study reveals the Toronto region as 'mediocre' in terms of its current global economic competitiveness and at risk of further decline," Wilding says in the report.

"Unless there is substantial, strategic co-operation on policy initiatives from business, government and the community, Toronto risks lagging further in its future growth, prosperity and sustainability."

A new suburb for the GTA?

The report credited a booming Greater Toronto Area for Toronto's respectable fourth-place ranking.

Analysts found a role reversal of sorts -- people are flocking to the city to live while heading to the 905 suburban regions to work.

"The results underscore the critical importance of Toronto-area municipalities working

together as an integrated whole -- uniting the strengths of the surrounding region with

those of the city centre," says the report.

Wilding concluded that the results of the report show that businesses and government need to have a "stronger, more targeted economic platform" if it hopes to progress during the current recession.

The Toronto Board of Trade says it will continue to monitor the city's progress with future "Scorecard" studies.

Future editions of the "Scorecard" will track the success of recent policy initiatives such as the tax reforms introduced in Ontario's 2009 budget.