Delta is the 59th best place to live in Canada.
At least that’s according to Maclean’s, which released its Best Communities in Canada rankings last week.
The magazine gathered data on 415 towns and cities across Canada in a variety of categories, including wealth and economy, affordability, population growth, taxes, commute, crime, weather, access to health care, amenities and culture.
Communities in B.C. and Ontario dominated the top 50 with Ontario accounting for 28 of the spots while 16 others were from B.C.
Maclean’s said the two provinces have an advantage because of their strong economies and good weather compared to the rest of the country. Ontario also has Canada’s lowest health care wait times and its small towns have the least crime in the country, while B.C. benefits from low income and sales taxes.
The top three communities were Burlington, Grimsby and Ottawa, all in Ontario.
Delta was the second highest city in the Lower Mainland, behind only West Vancouver, which came in 42nd. The City of North Vancouver was 75th, Vancouver was 112th while Surrey was 140th and Richmond ranked 173rd.
Salmon Arm was the lone B.C. city to crack into the top 10 at number six.
In rankings for the individual categories, Delta was 25th in weather, 41st among places to retire and 12th in Canada (fifth in B.C.) for new Canadians.
Its top features included culture and community, weather and amenities.
Delta Mayor George Harvie said he was pleased with the ranking.
“As mayor, I’m very pleased to see Delta ranked 59th in Canada and (was one of the) top two cities in Metro Vancouver,” he said. “But this doesn’t happen overnight. I have to thank previous councils and staff over the last 20 years that I have been working in Delta.
“We are now in a position of envy amongst other city councils and staff in Canada and B.C. but we are not content. As a city council and as a staff, we need to do better and we will do better.”
Harvie pointed to the Delta Families First initiative, a mayor’s task force on decreasing building permit times and improving the Ladner waterfront as catalysts to moving Delta forward.
“We have a housing plan moving forward as well, so we as a council have to move forward on these recommendations,” he said. “We are also moving forward on improvements to our recreations facilities and sports fields and we need to do more and refurbish others.
“I’m also pleased as we continue to look for improvements to transit and the Massey Tunnel. I’m satisfied, but I’m not content. My commitment as mayor and with Delta council and businesses is to continue to keep Delta one of the safest and best cities in Canada to live in and get our ranking even higher next year.”
