MoneySense has released their annual survey of the best places to live in Canada, based on data collected from 200 cities. This year, Ottawa, the capital city that has held the top spot for the last several years in a row, loses its place as it makes room for Calgary – the new top spot to live in the country. And in fact, looking at the survey results, you could say that Alberta is the best province to live in Canada. It’s here that took most of the biggest honours from the survey.
Calgary emerged as the number one spot to live in Canada, and St. Albert was named #2, after it was named Canada’s best small city. Alberta took up the third spot too, with Edmonton being named the third best city to live in in Canada. The survey takes many different factors into account, including employment data, housing prices, crime statistics, weather, and household income. And the magazine did not overlook the fact that in this competition, Alberta comes out shining.
“There’s something special about this part of Canada,” it says. “The top three towns on our list of best small cities – St. Albert, Strathcona County, and Lacombe – are all within an hour’s drive of Edmonton. This is no coincidence.
“Affordable housing, low unemployment, and high incomes are some of the reasons why these cities earn top marks. In fact, residents in St. Albert and Strathcona County – a municipality that includes sprawling countryside and urban neighbourhoods like Sherwood Park – have some of the highest household incomes in the country.”
St. Albert also edged out over Calgary and other Canadian cities when it comes to good places to raise children – taking up the No.3 spot on the charts, ahead of Calgary and Blainville, Quebec.
“It’s a safe community,” says St. Albert mayor Nolan Crouse, “and they speak about the significance of the trail system and the green spaces and the school system. It’s child-supportive, family-supportive, and safe.”
Strathcona County Mayor Linda Osinchuk also said, unsurprisingly, that she was pleased with where her town landed on the charts.
“It’s been because of a lot of good planning and conscious effort from not only administration but our elected officials to have a vision to be a location for families and for work and to ensure that recreation and culture are a big part of it,” she says.
