Edmonton, St. Albert rank in top 10 livable cities

天涯客

Edmonton, St. Albert rank in top 10 livable cities

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By Dave Cooper, Edmonton Journal April 7, 2011


Edmonton has finally cracked the top 10 list of Canada's best places to live, according to a survey released Tuesday by Canadian Business/ MoneySense magazine.
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The city was ranked eighth out of 180 cities with more than 10,000 residents, up sharply from its 16th ranking in 2010 and 18th in 2009. It's the third year in a row the city has placed higher than Calgary, which was No. 16 this year, 27th in 2010 and 26th in 2009.

St. Albert was No. 5 this year, the first time it was included in the review.
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The top four were Ottawa-Gatineau, Victoria, Burlington, Ont., and Kingston, Ont.
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; [: ^! q" j% z4 A4 z3 l' MTo compile its lists, the magazine uses sources such as Statistics Canada and has devised a grading system.
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* w, [" P( H: j" m$ V0 {* y- WWeather, for example, was calculated as the number of days below 0 C, and the number of wet days, factoring in what Environment Canada calculates as ideal precipitation.

' I( `3 o2 Y( v, G5 j3 X. I, yOn weather, Edmonton and St. Albert were ranked 37th; the winner was Oakville, Ont. Perhaps surprisingly, Victoria was No. 4.

Vancouver's weather was ranked at 92nd -a placing that must bring smiles to Edmontonians still facing freezing temperatures and mountains of snow and ice as April approaches.
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$ B" n! V7 Q, |& T$ |  M# xThe magazine said Edmonton's rating improvement was "thanks to low taxes, high levels of discretionary income and an extensive public transit system."

Canada's best places to live 2011
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/ G/ V$ [. y2 ?1. Ottawa-Gatineau

2. Victoria

% O5 G# D/ S; v. G' x* u" x3. Burlington, Ont.
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4. Kingston, Ont.

- N  z3 f) j0 t7 x* H. i( u5. St. Albert

& n; M4 V3 m( L  M6. Fredericton
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/ G* b0 u" S) a* f' \! K7. Brandon
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8. Edmonton

9. Repentigny, Que.
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. v6 Q: ~8 L. p- C10. Winnipeg

Other Alberta cities
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16. Calgary

0 [" T/ C- _# |* s19. Lethbridge

27. Canmore

  W1 x/ _; H4 M2 c" W3 d4 m: f63. Camrose
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71. Medicine Hat
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4 n  \9 Z8 r& c: J81. Wetaskiwin
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85. Cold Lake

96. Red Deer

5 S' B9 J+ m) E; O1 T  V+ q- Q97. Lloydminster
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" s2 g% ~' _2 @113. Okotoks
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129. Grande Prairie
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142. Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray)

And in last place .

, p0 }; p, @+ M( n4 b+ I180. New Glasgow, N.S.
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Source: Canadian Business/ MoneySense
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& p$ c. {& G9 h. E/ e( B7 L"With temperatures sinking lower than 0 C 178 days a year, weather may pose a problem for some. Higher-than-average housing prices and crime rates also hold the city back from a better score, but scant precipitation, low pollution levels and high household incomes from the recent oil boom balance this out to make Edmonton a great place to live."
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, X, O; q7 C% g5 o: M! mUnder affordable housing, Edmonton and St. Albert rank 120th and 125th. Vancouver is last at No. 180. Edmonton is 37th in household income, far below St. Albert (No. 7) and Calgary (No. 6).
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% B" e" \9 w9 A0 x1 ?0 Y$ CFort McMurray is No. 1 for income, but when cost of living and taxes are factored in, it falls to No. 20, compared with Edmonton at No. 11 and St. Albert at No. 2. Fort McMurray ranks just 142nd overall.
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Whitehorse residents have the most cash in their pockets and the most new vehicles per capita on the roads, the survey says.

Edmonton and St. Albert rank well above average in job prospects, population growth and access to health care. But Edmonton is 114th out of 180 for crime, compared with 64th for St. Albert. And while Edmonton is slightly below average in the number of people who walked or biked to work, St. Albert is near the bottom of the list. Oddly, the city with most people per capita who walk to work is Yellowknife, just ahead of Canmore.
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MoneySense data manager Phil Froats writes that the big reason cities such as Bay Roberts, N.L.; Val-d'Or, Que.; and B.C. communities such as Williams Lake, Quesnel, and Port Alberni rank low "is because of high unemployment, low average household income, negative population growth rates, a dismal culture industry and, for the most part, high crime."
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