High housing prices and crime are among the reasons for Toronto's plunge from #12 to #51 in an annual survey of the country's most liveable cities.
Ottawa topped MoneySense magazine's third annual list of Canada's Best Places To Live, which studied 154 communities and ranked them on a range of factors, among them economic, environmental, and social.
Six cities made the top ten list for the second year in a row - Ottawa, Ont., Victoria, B.C., Fredericton, N.B., Kingston, Ont., Moncton, N.B. and Halifax, N.S. - while four - Levis, Que., Winnipeg, Man., Burlington, Ont., and Vancouver, B.C. are new additions.
MoneySense also ranked the cities on what they had to offer in terms of weather, places to retire, and affordability.
"We look beyond pretty scenery or hot restaurants to find the places that deliver the best quality of life to residents," says MoneySense editor Ian McGugan. "Our methodology spans everything from home prices and weather to crime rates and the availability of medical care."
Toronto was one of the biggest sliders on the list, due to its flat population growth, relatively high crime rate and soaring housing prices in relation to income. On the flip side, Swift Current, Sask. jumped from #61 to #22, and Estevan, Sask. climbed from #68 to #34, their rise due to strong local economies and lower crime rates.
As far as how other GTA-area communities ranked, Burlington was tops overall at #8, Mississauga and Guelph came in at #11 and #12. Oakville made it to #26.
Overall winner Ottawa didn't actually make the top 10 in any of the individual categories, but fared quite well in all the categories, which is what put it atop the heap.
Top 10
1. Ottawa-Gatineau
2. Victoria B.C.
3. Fredericton, N.B.
4. Kingston, Ont.
5. Levis, Que.
6. Moncton, N.B.
7. Winnipeg, Man.
8. Burlington, Ont.
9. Halifax, N.S.
10. Vancouver B.C.
For a detailed description of the study and how other cities finished, see the complete rankings at www.moneysense.ca.
Monday, April 28, 2008
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