NORTH Vancouver is second only to Victoria when it comes to l'amour in Canadian cities.
The steamy revelation comes from an annual ranking of cities concocted by online retailer Amazon.ca released last week.
The rankings were established by Amazon not by measuring the prevalence of butterfly kisses, Al Green fandom and baby talk between adoring couples, but rather by tracking the online sales of romantic novels, sex and relationship books, rom-com DVDs and Michael Bublé music per capita.
Amazon releases the list annually to drive pre-Valentine's Day sales of mushy gifts.
But Amazon failed to clarify in its list whether it is District of North Vancouver residents wearing their hearts on their sleeves, or City of North Vancouver residents.
The two municipalities - often said to be joined at the hip themselves - share much in common, however both mayors claim it is their constituents who put North Vancouver on Cupid's map.
"I would think the district, for sure, is more romantic," said Mayor Richard Walton.
"I see the district as being a pretty laid back place. It's less urban than the city core. A lot of people live a little more remotely from the hustle and bustle."
Not to be outdone, city Mayor Darrell Mussatto says his community's statistically younger demographic means it is likely the more amourous.
"The residents of the city tend to be a bit younger, so when I hear Mayor Walton say that the district residents are more romantic, I'm happy to hear that the older people are still having an active romantic life," he said.
"I'm very happy to hear that. There's hope for us younger people."
The city is a younger community, Walton concedes, but "Romance can be old love as well as young love," he added.
Both mayors have theories as to what makes the North Shore a place where people are more likely to have love on their minds.
"There's definitely a connection between romance and the landscape," Walton said, noting it was "love at first sight" when his father first visited British Columbia and saw the North Shore mountains, before deciding to relocate the family there.
It may also have something to do with the outdoor recreation and clean living North Vancouverites are known for, Walton pondered.
"The North Shore is the healthiest region in Canada from a public health point of view, and statistics. I suspect there could be some connection between health and love as well," he said.
Mussatto mused the reason might be more meteorological in nature.
"Maybe the wetter weather is a bit of an advantage. Maybe they stay indoors just a little bit more and when they're indoors they're wondering what they should be doing. Maybe it encourages a little bit more of an active romantic lifestyle on the wetter days," he said.
The District of West Vancouver was not ranked as it did not meet the population size required by Amazon.
