Oh Canada, do nice guys finish last?

The world loves us. Canada regularly ranks atop surveys of liveable places and admirable societies.

We've held down the No. 1 spot in the Reputation Institute's ranking of major economies for two consecutive years, ahead of Australia in 2012 and Sweden in 2011. We were second the previous two years.

The Reputation Institute, a consultancy, comes up with its list by polling thousands of consumers in the Group of Eight countries: the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia. The firm argues that reputation matters: there is a strong correlation between the way a country is perceived and tourist visits and foreign direct investment.