Calgary is the most expensive city in Canada in which to do business, according to a new study.

The KPMG 2016 Competitive Alternatives study, released Wednesday, ranked Calgary 17th among 17 featured cities. The report examined 26 significant business cost elements, including labour, facilities, transportation, utilities and taxes.

While Calgary has the lowest natural gas costs among the 17 cities compared, the KPMG report found it has the highest salary and wage costs in the country. Costs to purchase industrial land in Calgary are the second highest in the country, second only to Vancouver.

Despite its poor ranking nationally, Calgary still ranks well from an international perspective. The city ranked 20th among 111 examined world-wide, with only three non-Canadian cities topping Calgary in the rankings — Mexico City, Monterrey (Mexico) and Manchester (UK).

When comparing international cities that serve the oil and gas industry, Calgary also ranked well — coming out at 21st among 111 featured cities and scoring ahead of Melbourne, Fargo, New Orleans, Dallas-Ft Worth, and Houston.

All Canadian cities included in the study were found to be more cost competitive than any of the U.S. cities featured.

This year's study gave top honours to Fredericton, NB, which ranked as most competitive in Canada due to its low increases in labour costs and reductions in lease costs.

Graphic: The KPMG competitiveness rankings for Canada

More to come.

astephenson@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/AmandaMsteph