Here's where to look to find the best looking people in Canada

We're sure the women who come from Eyebrow, Sask. have great personalities.
And the men of Baldy Hughes and Blubber Bay, B.C., would make for good "just friends" material.

But look around your own office and ask, where do most of the country's hottest people live? Is there one spot that's burdened with beauty?

Before you tug on your sweat pants, rub your nose with the back of your hand and complain there's just no way to determine which Canadian community has the largest pool of good-looking people, know, before taking this plunge, Sun Media first turned to science.

"The answer is, finding the city with the best looking people is quantifiable," said Michael Cunningham, one of the world's leading experts in how humans perceive beauty.

The University of Louisville psychology and communications professor -- who uses intricate measurements and computer programs to separate the beauties from the beasts -- said humans innately are able to do the same calculations in our heads.

"Most people know the difference between a 10 and a seven and a three -- we are trying to replicate what nature is doing (when we rate people)," he said.

To calculate each city, would mean random samplings, following migration patterns, tracing genetics and figuring out natural selection patterns, because while a dainty, thin-skinned, large- eyed waif may be at home on the downtown streets of Toronto, she historically wouldn't survive too long in a rugged northern Canadian outpost.

"I've never seen data (comparing cities), it would be a challenging endeavour," said an intrigued Cunningham.

In fact, trying to pin down Canada's hottest city could take the same effort and time as putting one good looking astronaut on Mars. So, instead, we're counting on outsiders, those who make a living from selling beauty, and the very shallow.

A quick survey of some of the country's top modelling agents agreed the best-looking models are from Toronto.

"Toronto still has a disproportionate number of supermodels," said Ann Sutherland, of Sutherland Models.

While Winnipeg is a hotbed for leggy, fair, Nordic-looking blonds and Quebec the sophisticated women, Sutherland says Toronto is a breeding ground for unique faces.

Added Richard Campbell of Elmer Olsen Model Management, which heads Canada's Next Top Model: "Toronto has such a mixed bag of everything, so many different ethnic persuasions here. The more exotic you are, the more interesting the girl."

But Toronto the Good, is apparently not the best when it comes to turning more heads than any other city in Canada. Instead, it's Montreal which can make that argument -- almost flawlessly.

Last year, a writer at Travelers Digest ranked the top 10 cities with the most beautiful women in the eyes of male tourists. Amsterdam was first, Tel Aviv second and Montreal a close third.

Reinforcing the skin deep worth of Montreal as the hottie hotbed of Canada, are people who've decided they are also stunners.

According to people at beautifulpeople.com -- a social networking site that weeds out the "uglies" -- Montreal, followed by Calgary, are national treasures.

"We certainly found the people in Montreal and Calgary to be stunning," said managing director Greg Hodge from his Los Angeles office.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when you apply to BeautifulPeople, you're literally being beholden by thousands of people," he said.

Members rate opposite-sex applicants.

In Montreal, 44% of applicants were able to clear the red velvet rope, while Calgary allowed 39% and Quebec City 30%.

BeautifulPeople member Lenny Schuller rates female applicants daily. It's part of a member's duty, he says, "if you want to keep your club elite."

Schuller, 25, sits in front of his laptop, the short tic tac ping of the mouse signalling his preferences. The women are gazing seductively from the screen, with parted lips and bosoms a-heaving, contorted in unnatural poses to show off their best, ahem, assets. Then there are girls like Rita, a mousy brunette posing with her bunny rabbit.

"Oh Rita, Rita, what were you thinking?" Schuller asks, the cursor pointed to the big, red, X box which will deny Rita admission into his club. "I'm sorry Rita, but this isn't Nicepeople.com."

Model Kelly Foss joined the site as part of her social networking class for journalism at the University of Western Ontario. Foss, 22, stands a statuesque 5-foot-11 with heels and turns heads with her proportions, Barbie-like blond locks and big blue eyes.

She admits to being a harsh judge of beauty when rating male applicants given the company she keeps.

"I definitely have high standards for guys," she said. "Your standards rise when you're a model."

Meanwhile, though Canada is out-beautied by Sweden, Denmark and Italy, we come in fourth out of 10 countries, beating the U.S. and the U.K. in high acceptance rates on the site.

Where Canada is less "esthetically blessed," BeautifulPeople's Hodge said, is Thunder Bay where 3% of applicants gained acceptance, and Winnipeg, which produced 9%.

But professor Cunningham isn't convinced those communities should be scarred for life by the results.

"It's hardly scientific," he said of the verdict.

To judge for yourself, just have a good look around.

---

What makes a beauty?

Rank your own neighbours. According to researchers, these are some of the benchmarks of beauty.

- In women: Narrower facial shape and darker, narrower eyes.

- In women: A baby face, with large eyes and small nose. Very smooth skin.

- Sexual maturity: In women, higher cheek bones and narrow cheeks. In males, thick eyebrows and big chins.

- Expressiveness: Involves dilated pupils, higher set eyebrows, big smile and fuller lips. Some is structural, but a lot is under control.

- Grooming: Includes clothes and body weight.

- In men: No wrinkles between nose and corner of the mouth and no receding brow.

---

DOES MONTREAL HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE?

44% of Montrealers appying to beautifulpeople.com were accepted, whereas only 3% of people in Thunder Bay made the grade.

MOST ATTRACTIVE:

Montreal -- 44%

Calgary -- 39%

Quebec City -- 30%

Vancouver -- 23%

Toronto -- 21%

LEAST ATTRACTIVE

Saint John -- 14%

Moncton -- 12%

Regina -- 11%

Winnipeg -- 9%

Thunder Bay -- 3%