The latest news report shows that Toronto status as a reputable city is dropping in rank since last. In 2017, the city was ranked 10th most reputable city in the world but the latest (2018) rankings saw it at 13th.

Several factors are considered when determining these rankings. They include infrastructure, social policies, economic status, environmental beauty and appeal, financial security, effective government, and other factors.

Although Toronto’s ranking may have dropped, Canada still holds several spots on the list. Montreal was ranked 10th taking Toronto’s old spot while Vancouver came in at a comfortable 16th. If you take into consideration the fact that there are 56 cities being considered, the 10th, 13th, and 16th, positions aren’t that bad.

Even with all the declines, “the reputation of all Canadian cities is still relatively strong compared to the rest of the world,” said Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, the firm’s chief reputation officer. “They are still viewed in a positive light.”

The Reputation Institute’s RepTrak series is responsible for putting together the rankings. Canadian cities were not the only ones to drop this year. Sydney, Australia, which previously held the number one spot for three years in a row, finally dropped to second place allowing Tokyo, Japan to seize the number one spot.

Despite the fall, all three Canadian cities ranked higher than the highest-ranked U.S. City, San Francisco, which placed 20th.

In an interview with Huffington Post Canada, Hahn-Griffiths had this to say, “Montreal saw a big boost to its reputation on issues of safety and security, while in Toronto, perceptions of safety are ‘on a downward trend’.”

“Toronto is viewed as a less safe city than it used to be,” he said, adding that this was just some of the factors that were contributing to the city’s decline on the rankings. The survey itself was carried out earlier this year (March and April) before the series of violent incidents hit Toronto this summer.

According to the survey, Toronto and Vancouver were also falling short on perceptions of entertainment and cultural diversity. Mr. Hahn-Griffiths suggests both cities find a way to step up their game and improve their cultural attributes.

“They should be asking, ‘What can we do to create more excitement around our cultural diversity?'” Hahn-Griffiths said.

The cities also fell off on the perception of public policy especially the type of progressive policies you expect to see in major cities.

According to Hahn-Griffith, “Toronto and Vancouver are perceived as being a tad more ordinary, and perhaps a little less progressive in terms of their policy agenda.”

“Overall, Canadian cities are stacked with some very stiff competition like London and Tokyo, but they still hold their own” Hahn-Griffiths said.

He also added that the five highest-ranking cities all had one thing in common “Governors or mayors who are seen as … highly regarded leaders.”

So while the reputation of Toronto may have fallen, it’s still doing pretty well on the ranking, and as long as they make some policy changes and promote their cultural attributes, the city has a chance to climb back to top 10.