Guelph (;
Canada 2011 Census population 121,668) is a city in
southwestern Ontario,
Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of
Waterloo and west of downtown
Toronto at the intersection of
Highway 6 and
Highway 7. It is the seat of
Wellington County, but is politically
independent of it. Because of its low crime rates, clean environment and generally high standard of living, Guelph is consistently rated as one of Canada's best places to live. Guelph has been noted as having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country throughout the
2008–2012 global recession, and has ranked at the bottom of Canada's crime severity list since 2007.