the mountains are the only good thing about Calgary !!! (along with my cute friend who lives there
)...
seriously though, i lived in Edmonton and Fort Mc (AB) for the past 4 years, and i like it a lot... Edmonton is a fairly big city without the jungle-feeling like someone mentionned earlier... it gets hot in the summer, stupid cold in the winter, but we have the greatest big blue skies i have ever seen
Downsides: not much for architectural excitement (especially coming from France), 4 hrs drive minimum to the mountains, high housing costs
Pros: probably close to the highest wages in Canada (even more so for Fort Mc), lots of opportunity if you want to start your own business also...
I also really like Fort McMurray... it's got all you need as far as amenities, shopping (from a guy's point-of-view), restaurants, bars... and yet you drive 5 min out of town and you end up in the middle of nowhere, you can take your boat to the river, go quadding, 4x4 in the woods... i love it, i might move up there next year...
is it the best place to live in Canada? depends what you're after... a few years here to make some dough and go back home? in this case, YES YES YES !!! you want a laid-back, easy going life, with nice vistas around the corner, curvy roads to enjoy, go east !!!
Good luck !
Pat