Toronto’s Monopoly Play

Canadians vote like mad for Monopoly real estate

It may sound like fun and games, but some people are taking getting their cities into Monopoly’s upcoming World Edition rather seriously. Campaigns on the social site Facebook and other Internet sites have boosted the fortunes of Canada’s three candidate cities vying for spots on the game board.

Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto are among 68 world cities being considered for inclusion in the international version of Monopoly to be launched this fall, competing for spots otherwise occupied by the likes of Illinois or Pacific avenues.

The 20 world cities with the most votes as of Feb. 28 will earn a spot on the board known for making Marvin Gardens a household name. And while Canadian cities were at first slow getting out of the gate, all three are currently in the Top 20.

As of now, Canada is the only country with three cities in the Top 20. Montreal was ranked No. 1, Vancouver was No. 9 and Toronto No. 14. See the Leader Board.

Montreal #1? Come on Toronto!

A little bit of online campaigning may be responsible for that as Internet sites such as smartcanucks.ca and specialized groups on Facebook have been calling for Canadians to cast their votes in favour of the three cities.

But Canada isn’t alone “” virtually every city from Athens to Zurich has an online campaign to shore up votes.

“Last year, we voted to make Rome’s Colosseum one of the new seven wonders of the world. Now you can vote to include Rome in the Monopoly,” wrote Martha Bakerjian, on her travel blog.

You may cast votes for up to 10 of the “candidate cities” each day at www.monopoly.com.