Calgary boasts highest quality of life

While many wouldn’t automatically think of Calgary as the city that reigns supreme in Canada, according to its citizens, their level of satisfaction can’t be beat anywhere else in the country.

A new poll commissioned for CityAge Media’s The Innovation City summit and conducted by Angus Reid, shows that – of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver – Calgary takes the number one spot in terms of quality of life.

The poll shows that the majority of people in all four cities are mostly content with their quality of life, but most still have concerns.

While Calgary came up at 87 per cent in satisfaction with their quality of life, Vancouver came in second at 82 per cent, Toronto followed closely at 80 per cent, and Montreal came in last at 75 per cent.

Each city had specific areas of most pressing concern and hopes for improvement.

Vancouverites, living in one of the most expensive cities in Canada, noted the lack of affordable housing as the biggest problem.

In Toronto, the gridlock issue made the top of the list, with transit and traffic as the number one concern, while both Montreal and Calgary listed health care and hospitals as the top issue.

When it comes to infrastructure, every city noted a need for improvement. Calgary and Vancouver both had 60 per cent of respondents calling for improvements in this area, while Toronto came in at 65 per cent, and Montreal at 73 per cent.

Of all four cities, none came in above 30 per cent at satisfaction with small business implementation policies.

Politically, Calgarians are the most satisfied, with 62 per cent of respondents saying their government currently does a good or very good job. Vancouver came in second at 42 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, those numbers took a dip in Toronto, where the controversy surrounding Mayor Rob Ford continues. Only 28 per cent of Torontonians polled chose good or very good.

Montreal was similarly unsatisfied, at 22 per cent.

When given words to use to describe their city, Calgary respondents chose: livable, a place to find a job, a place to start a business, embracing innovation, connected and with accessible digital infrastructure.

When asked if they perceive their city as a city ‘on the rise,’ 90 per cent of Calgarians agreed, while only 40 per cent of Montreal respondents felt the same.

The poll surveyed approximately 400 random individuals in each city who are Angus Reid forum panelists, between July 9th and 11th. The poll has a margin error of 4.9 percent.

CityAge Media’s Innovation City summit will take place at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto on July 18 and 19.

Sources: Angus Reid, Globe and Mail

READ MORE
Summer in the City: Toronto
Rediscover the world’s lost cities
Top 25 places to live
Age-friendly cities and communities