Every year, it seems, the MoneySense listing of “Canada’s Best Places to Live” shortchanges North Battleford.
But the city’s ranking for 2017 was particularly awful.
North Battleford didn’t place in the top 100 of communities in Canada; they failed to crack the top 150, either. Or the top 200.
In fact, they didn’t even make the top 300. North Battleford settled in at number 333 in the annual ranking – an abysmal showing out of 417 communities ranked.
Among communities listed in the Prairie provinces, North Battleford finished in 21st place out of 22, ahead only of Thompson.
It was the worst showing ever for North Battleford in the rankings, which only surveyed a total of 219 communities last year.
According to MoneySense, North Battleford scored highest on the items of home affordability, low taxes and health accessibility.
But other factors did North Battleford in. The city’s economic numbers did not impress MoneySense: their median household income was $72,531 and average value of primary real estate was $235,671.
For mobility, the city got low marks: the percentage of population that walks to work is 2.8 percent; the amount that bikes is .6 percent, and the amount that takes public transit is .8 percent.
As usual, crime levels were another drag on the rankings.
And the weather is famously freezing cold, with only 162 days per year above zero and 96 days above 20 degrees Celsius.
All in all, it was a miserable showing for the city that recently celebrated an SJHL Canalta Cup title.
Last year in the survey, North Battleford placed 113th. A year earlier, they were 106th.
If you are looking for positives, keep in mind North Battleford’s ranking still put it ahead of places like Montreal (356), Shawinigan (410) and Colchester, Subivision C, which finished dead last at 417.
The top-ranking city in Canada, according to MoneySense is Ottawa. As for Saskatchewan cities, Weyburn again placed the highest, but improved its national showing by finishing in fifth spot overall.
To see the survey, go to www.moneysense.ca.
