Erin Haluschak
Record staff
Twenty-five isn’t a bad place to start.
That was the consensus on Monday shortly after the annual MoneySense list of Canada’s Best Places to Live 2015 was released, and the Town of Comox found its spot at the 25th place for the first time.
“It’s a nice result to see where we fit,” noted Mayor Paul Ives. “The secret’s been out for a number of years.”
The list weighs dozens of factors to get an overall health of 209 communities across the country, using reports from Statistics Canada, Environics Analystics and other data providers.
It considers factors such as job prospects, affordability, weather, crime rate and taxes.
This is the first time communities under 15,000 in population were considered for the list, added Ives, and said Comox is known as a place with a high quality of life.
“ … it’s a good place where people come to retire, to live and we’re always striving to make it a more livable place.”
In addition to it being regarded as a walkable community, he credits cycling infrastructure and a low crime rate as other desirable factors.
The list breaks down a variety of statistics about each spot, including the median household income for Comox ($72,508), average value of primary real estate ($360,829), total annual rainfall (1,096.45 mm) and doctors per 100,000 people (three).
The only other Island community in the top 30 was Saanich, taking the number 12 spot.
Boucherville, QC, took the top spot on the list, with New Glasgow, NS, finishing at the bottom.
In comparison, the City of Courtenay – which placed 98 on the list last year – dropped to the 129th spot, while Campbell River rose from 175 in 2014 to 166. Port Alberni rounded out the bottom, placing 207 on the list.
Currently, Ives said, Comox pays for less policing costs than Courtenay, but that’s reflective of population. With a threshold of 15,000, policing – and therefore budgeting costs – are required to rise with an increase in population.
“When we get our 15,000th resident, we’ll welcome them and then ask them to leave,” joked Ives.
To see the full report visit: moneysense.ca/canadas-best-places-to-live-2015-full-ranking/
