Congratulations St. Albert, we are the 2013 top small city in Canada and second to Calgary in the overall best city ranking! What makes any city a great place to live? According to the recent MoneySense survey, there are numerous factors to take into consideration. From income, to amenities to total number of sunny days, amongst other factors, the eighth annual ranking of best Canadian cities in which to live gives some cities bragging rights yet certainly raises a few eyebrows.
A quick visit to the MoneySense website reveals the rankings of large, medium and small cities. St. Albert, as the No. 1 small city has two other Alberta contenders, Strathcona County and Lacombe, in second and third place respectively. Canmore came in 10th, giving Alberta 40 per cent of the top-10 small city list! Lethbridge took fourth in the top-10 mid-sized cities while heavyweights, Calgary and Edmonton took first and third in the top-10 large cities category. Needless to say, Alberta really stood out this year. What is it though that makes Alberta cities amongst the top cities to live?
A quick poll on the MoneySense survey asks respondents to indicate which one of the following categories is most important: amenities, weather, people, job opportunities or other reasons. I was interested to see just how close the results were. In considering the factors why Alberta ranks so well, I was not too surprised. It is certainly worth a look.
In a very close race the most important facets of city living for respondents were: the people, the job opportunities, followed by the amenities and then the weather. When I think of our fair city (or should I say our No. 1 city) I suspect I would have the exact same order of determining factors. I have always said, and still maintain, that it is the people of our city that make it such a great place to be.
While the job opportunities for most St. Albert citizens may reside in that larger third place city, it can be easily argued that St. Albert accords tremendous opportunities to its citizens. Our amenities are ever expanding – too quickly, some might say. Nonetheless, our city is becoming more and more robust in its commercial, cultural and recreational facets, which all contribute to quality of life.
As for the weather … let’s forego this past winter and simply say, we do get more than our fair share of those coveted sunny days.
The top-10 lists for cities ranked St. Albert third in the category of best places to raise kids. This bothers me a little. It begs many questions such as: what more can we do to keep our community safe? What more can we do to keep our community clean? What services and supports do we need to enhance in according opportunity for success and growth for our children? It should beg these questions for every adult citizen. This gives us cause to improve.
Taxation rates, LRT concerns, affordable housing, lot sizes, commercial development, bike parks … all of these hot-button topics will demand our full attention. It is all too easy for dissention to creep into the ranks. As a community we need to hearken to that very reason why our city is so great: the people!
We need to be ever mindful that civility, service, good manners and hard work pay rich dividends. Our community is only as good or as strong as how we treat the most marginalized member of our community. When we each lend a hand or our voice or our talent to any challenge, we will certainly be able to come up with creative and innovative solutions to complex and demanding issues.
St. Albert truly is a great place to live. Let’s all strive to keep it that way.
Tim Cusack is an educator, writer and member of the naval reserve.
