For the second year in a row, Canada has been named the No.1 most powerful country brand in the world by FutureBrand, a leading international brand and design consultancy. Canada holds its ground against its competitors as it extends the global reach of its tourism brand.

This month FutureBrand announced that Canada keeps the top spot in its 2011 Country Brand Index (CBI), the most comprehensive global study of how travellers perceive countries around the world. The rankings are based on a global sample of online interviews of savvy leisure and business travellers. FutureBrand’s 2010 CBI assessed 110 countries through online interviews with 3,400 travellers from 13 countries, eight of which were markets where the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) invests.

According to the CBI, the most important factors that truly differentiate a nation’s brand are its associations and attributes: the qualities that people think of when they hear a country’s name, read or see images of a location, or plan a business or leisure trip.

“Canada’s continued rating at the top of FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index is a testament to our country’s global appeal. We have a wealth of compelling experiences for travellers, and our government is committed to sustaining this momentum by promoting Canada in innovative ways on the international stage,” said the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism.