Peterborough Ranked 55th Best Places to LIve in Canada. 2012

Money Sense Magazine has release their report on Canada’s Best Places to live in 2012.  The report ranks 190 towns and cities in Canada using categories to compare the pros and cons of urban communities in Canada.

Peterborough ranked as the 55^th for 2012 as the best place to live in Canada. Comparing our rankings in 2011 where Peterborough was ranked 38^th and in 2010, Peterborough was ranked #17. 

I will discuss the criteria for 2012 below and the report does changed some if its 22 separate categories all having different weights given for the answer.  This does make it interesting and at the same time, it becomes a conversation piece as to why communities move up and down on the scale.

Categories and Points

WALK/BIKE TO WORK: Peterborough scored 10.15% ranked 35

7 points – This represents the percentage of people who walked or took their bike to work. Source: 2006 Statistics Canada reports.

WEATHER: Peterborough scored with 110 days of precipitation with 840.3 Mm/year and ranked 15th

 18 points – (6 for each : amount of precipitation, number of wet days, days below 0°C). Ideal volume of precipitation is considered to be 700 mm per year. Source: Environment Canada

AIR QUALITY: Ozone scored in at 27^th, ranked 6th

2 points – One point for parts per million of ozone and one point for levels of suspended fine particulate matter, both of which are major components of smog. Source: Monitoring stations in or nearest to each city as reported by the National Air Pollution Surveillance Network.

POPULATION GROWTH: Peterborough +2.1%, ranked 110

 10 points – Results are based on the average Canadian population growth rate from 2006-2011 of 5.9% plus 2%. Higher growth rates create problems as cities struggle to provide services to growing populations. Lower growth rates means less opportunities. Cities with negative growth received 0 points. Source: 2011 Statistics Canada figures

UNEMPLOYMENT: Peterborough scored 7.3%, ranked 100th

10 points – 2011 data from Statistics Canada when provided and 2012 estimates derived from Canadian Demographics.

HOUSING:Time to buy in Peterborough was 3.40 years, ranked 122

 15 points – (7.5 for average house prices and 7.5 for time to buy a house) House price averages from reports and listings by MLS, Canadian Real Estate Association, and the Real Estate Boards of Toronto, Fraser Valley, Vancouver, Edmonton and Quebec. Time to buy was derived from average price divided by average 2012 estimated household income sourced from Canadian Demographics.

HOUSEHOLD INCOME:Peterborough Average House Price was $257,400, ranked 97^th.

 4 points – Based on 2012 estimates. Source: Canadian Demographics.

DISCRETIONARY INCOME: Peterborough scored 27.75%, ranked 64

4 points – Discretionary household income as a percentage of total household income derived from 2012 estimates. Using a percentage figure adjusts for higher cost of living and tax factors. Source: Canadian Demographics.

NEW CARS: Peterborough scored 13.47, ranked 97

 4 points – 2009-2011 model year vehicles as a percent of total vehicles as per Canadian Demographics.

INCOME TAXES: Peterborough ranked 4^th,

2 points – Cities ranked (lower is better) according to the rate of combined federal and provincial (or territorial) income tax paid on a single person income of $50,000. Source: www.taxtips.ca.

SALES TAXES: Peterborough ranked 4th

1 point – Cities ranked (lower is better) according to the rate of provincial or territorial sales tax.

CRIME: Severity Crime, Peterborough scored 84.0, ranked 100, Violent Crime rate, Peterborough scored 1,040, ranked 66.  Totoal Crime rank, 6.396, ranked 73.

5 points – Violent crime rates (2 points), total crime rates per 100,000 people (2 points) and crime severity rates (1 point) for 2010. (Lower is better in all three cases.) Source: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

DOCTORS: Doctors per 1,000, Peterborough scored 2.21, ranked 91^st.

6 points – Number of general practice and specialist physicians per community and converted to doctors per 1,000 people. Source: Canadian Medical Association

HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: Peterborough scored 3.49%, ranked 54

4 points – Percentage of people in each city who are employed in health occupations. Source: 2006 Census

TRANSIT: Peterborough came in at 2.46%, ranked 86th

5 points – Based on the percentage of the workforce utilizing public transit. Source: 2006 Census

AMENITIES: Peterborough has 1 Hospital, 1 College and 1 University

 3 points – One point each for a hospital, university and college. Cities in a CMA area received credit if a particular institution was located anywhere in the CMA.

CULTURE: Peterborough scored 1.36% and was ranked 69th

Bonus points – A city could receive up to 5 points based on the percentage of people employed in arts, culture, recreation and sports. Source: 2006 Census

Best Places to Live 2012 displays cities’ rankings in each category and total rankings out of 190 cities, not points.

All data and calculations are on this downloadable spreadsheet.

Peterborough Celebrates New Affordable Housing

PETERBOROUGH, ON, January 22, 2010 — The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Peterborough today celebrated the official opening of an affordable housing project. The project is supported by more than $2 million in funding under the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program.

Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Jeff Leal, Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Henry Clarke, Deputy Mayor of Peterborough on behalf of Paul Ayotte, Mayor of Peterborough; and Bonnie Clark, Chair of Peterborough Housing Corporation made the announcement.

“This is great news for families and individuals in Peterborough. Our government is providing a hand-up to those families in need,” said MP Del Mastro. “Through projects like these, our government is stimulating the economy and creating jobs to help Canadians recover from the economic downturn.”

“The province is committed to helping people who live on lower or fixed incomes stay in their home communities,” said MPP Leal. “Investment in affordable housing is not only a fundamental support for individuals and families trying to break the cycle of poverty, it also improves job prospects and supports local trades and business.”
Today’s announcement recognized the official opening of 30 affordable housing units at Saunders Court, located at 130 Anson Street. The project for households with low incomes and persons with special needs is sponsored by the Peterborough Housing Corporation.

The federal and provincial allocations to the project were complemented by $355,459 in municipal financial incentives.

“Saunder’s Court is an exciting new development that will provide 30 new affordable housing units in the City of Peterborough,” said Mayor Paul Ayotte. “Peterborough Housing Corporation is to be congratulated for their continued efforts to create housing opportunities for low-income households in Peterborough.”

"We believe this building is our best effort yet", said Bonnie Clark, Chair of Peterborough Housing Corporation. “This site has been part of a continuum of service to the community for nearly a century, as both a refuge and home for those in need.”
The Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for up to 20,000 households in Ontario.

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure. Combined for Ontario, this means a further $1.2-billion joint investment under the amended Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program Agreement. The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to this overall investment.

Ontario is moving quickly to implement this additional funding. The province has already approved more than $224 million for construction-ready projects, which will improve access to affordable housing for low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities across the province. It will also create jobs and strengthen local economies. To find out more about affordable housing in Ontario, visit www.mah.gov.on.ca.

To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan. For more information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, call 1-800-O Canada or visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

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