I see that Halifax ranked second in the large cities category for “Large Cities of the Future” in FDI Magazine’s 2010/2011 ranking. The city ranked /1 for quality of life and 6th for infrastructure.
Fredericton ranked #1 at the top Micro-City of the Future, top FDI strategy among micros and sixth for quality of life among micros.
A lot of people roll their eyes at these rankings but I think they add some value. It is true that the methodology used to develop any of these rankings (Moneysense, Macleans, ICF, etc.) is somewhat arbitrary but when you are a city/province in relatively obscurity, these things can bolster credibility. This magazine (FDI) in particular has a wide circulation globally among folks in the international economic development area.
It does take time to get noticed. Many of these rankings require a city to apply and there are ways to increase visibility in the others. Most economic development agencies do some PR these days and it would make sense to fold this type of PR into the mix.