St. Albert is one of the top cities in the country for people going through a mid-life transition, according to a recent ranking published by the Globe and Mail.
However, the data also shows housing costs hold the city back from being more ideal, especially for newcomers.
The Globe's analysis, published as an interactive database that ranks the most livable cities in Canada, was put together by journalists Mahima Singh and Chen Wang with data collected from 439 cities. It includes factors such as the local economy, housing, climate, amenities, and more.
Overall, St. Albert earned the title of 31st most livable city in Canada, with Victoria and North Vancouver taking the top two spots, followed by Winnipeg in third; Regina, in fourth; and Burlington, Ont. in fifth.
The Globe's interactive reporting also allows readers to create new lists based on individual features, such as access to amenities or housing affordability.
Based on housing affordability alone, St. Albert drops all the way down to the 237th spot on the list, and 24th in the province. However, St. Albert isn't an outlier in terms of affordability in the Edmonton region, as Beaumont, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Strathcona County (Sherwood Park), and Sturgeon County all scored lower for housing affordability.
Thetford Mines, Que., a city of under 27,000 people, ranks as the most affordable place to live in Canada based solely on housing costs, as the average monthly rent is $625 and the average real estate value is $172,189.
Adryan Slaght, St. Albert's director of planning and engineering, said the city has a number of initiatives underway designed to improve affordability.
They include the city's soon-to-be-created affordable housing fund, the 22 St. Thomas St. affordable housing project, and a host of possible changes to the city's Land Use Bylaw (LUB), which dictates how, and what kind of, development takes place across the city, while also regulating and setting development standards.
Among the possible LUB changes that will be before council for approval early next year that will affect affordability, Slaght said, is an increase in the number of secondary suites allowed in a single-detached home, and reduced parking requirements.
“We've always seen secondary suites are probably the most efficient way to create affordable or more affordable, or relatively affordable — however you want to call it — units in the city,” he said. He added since St. Albert's rental vacancy rate is approximately 2.2 per cent, creating new rental units in existing buildings rather than relying on construction of new apartment buildings is also a timely solution to the problem.
“To bring on more units at an incremental cost is a fast, fantastic opportunity,” he said.
Slaght also pointed to the city's application to the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), if approved, as an example of another initiative that could make a significant difference to St. Albert's affordability.
The federal fund is meant to encourage municipalities to improve housing approval timelines and increase housing supply in return for funding dollars. Council heard this past summer that St. Albert could receive between $7-$12 million in funding if the federal government approves the city's application.
While there are many aspects of affordability the city can control through policy, Slaght said, there also a number of factors out of the city's control, such as construction and lumber costs, mortgage rates, supply-chain issues, provincial and federal policy, and developer or home builder profit margins.
“There's a lot of factors that all contribute, so we just focus on what we can control and that's some of the policy stuff.”
Mid-life transitions
The Globe and Mail's analysis found St. Albert ranked quite high (11th) for being a livable city for mid-life transitioners, which the Globe defines as people going through divorce, becoming empty-nesters, looking to downsize, or adults looking for a stronger social connection.
“These individuals might want to downsize their homes and relocate to communities that offer stronger social cohesion and enhanced amenities for social activity,” Singh and Wang wrote.
“For this ranking, we’ve included data regarding the percentage of families without children, which would help mid-life transitioners find communities with individuals facing a similar life stage. We also prioritized factors related to the economy and health care to reflect the enduring pursuit of career growth and a forward-looking perspective on health care.”
While St. Albert nearly cracked the top 10 for this demographic, our community trails only Canmore when it comes to provincial competition. Victoria, B.C. was also ranked the most livable city for midlife transitioners.
Some relatively new St. Albert residents who classified themselves as mid-life transitioners told the Gazette familial connection is what drove them to move from Vancouver in May.
“Our family is here, most of them in St. Albert, some in Edmonton and some in Sherwood Park ... that was the main reason for moving here,” said Doug Hermanutz, who, along with his husband Bruce Burden, was born and raised in Alberta and is now living in St. Albert after a 30-plus year stint in B.C.
“Before we made the decision to move we had come out and visited family a few times, and Doug was more familiar with St. Albert than myself because he had been here many times over the decades, and I really just kind of fell in love with St. Albert really on the first trip we made out a couple of years ago,” Burden said. “We both agreed that this would be a place that that we could live and, you know the old expression that life is short, I think we both came to the realization that we're not getting any younger but our family is definitely not getting any younger as well, and it just kind of made sense on all accounts.”
Burden also said one of the concerns he and Hermanutz had about returning to Alberta was the winter season; however, the number of sunny days has been a pleasant surprise, and the lower cost of living compared to Vancouver makes up for the cold yet to come.
Burden and Hermanutz said they “wouldn't hesitate” to recommend St. Albert to those in other provinces looking to move to Alberta, and those looking into Edmonton should consider the surrounding communities as well.
Newcomers
The Globe also published an analysis ranking the most livable cities for newcomers, and St. Albert earned the 68th spot Canada-wide.
The ranking, Singh and Chen Wang wrote, placed a heavy emphasis on data such as access to amenities, demographics, economy, and housing affordability.
Cheryl Dumont, the soon-to-be-retired executive director of St. Albert Further Education, a non-profit that, among many things, has a newcomers connection program, said the cost of housing and job opportunities are the two main things she thinks is holding St. Albert back from being a more livable city for newcomers.
“Those two things are the main things that are stumbling blocks and why somebody might move into Edmonton [or elsewhere],” Dumont said. “It's not only the cost of housing, but the availability of rental units that are of a reasonable price.”
When it comes to job opportunities, Dumont said the issue is mainly a result of federal policy and how many newcomers' education credentials aren't recognized in Canada.
"I know there are people trying to work on that [but] we had a doctor working in McDonald's,” Dumont said to illustrate the discrepancy. “She can't get back into her field for a number of years — she has to have her (permanent resident) status and then she has to pass a number of exams.”
Compounding the issue for newcomers having to start from scratch with job training and post-secondary education, is Alberta's minimum wage, Dumont said, which hasn't been increased since 2019 and is higher than only Saskatchewan's and New Brunswick's.
“The minimum wage is tough, and therefore some of them have to take a couple of jobs, because a lot of entry-level jobs are part-time [and] don't have benefits.”
As many things that would improve St. Albert's livability for newcomers are out of the municipality's control, Dumont said she does think St. Albert's generosity and available services are part of what makes the community a good option for newcomers.
