BC's 2nd least livable city?

Photo: Mike Biden

Despite having pristine beaches and lakes, being surrounded by mountains, enjoying short commutes and many amenities in town, some consider Penticton to be one of Canada's least livable cities.

In an annual statistical ranking published on Tuesday by Toronto-based Maclean's, Penticton was rated 383 out of 415 Canadian cities in a list of "Canada's best places to live."

In its methodology, the list measured 10 categories with different scales of importance. In order of significance, those factors were wealth and economy, affordability, health accessibility, weather, commute, crime rates, taxes, diversity, culture and amenities.

Out of 60 B.C. cities included on the list, only North Cowichan (390) was ranked lower than Penticton. Vernon (370), Summerland (369) and Lake Country (357) also did not rank high among Okanagan cities. Kelowna and West Kelowna did slightly better, at 250 and 220, respectively.

Fort St. John was rated as the most liveable B.C. city, at 15 on the list.

"I suspect many people will be surprised to learn that Fort St. John is ranked the best city to live in British Columbia and ahead of our beautiful community," Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said in response.

"Penticton continues to have record growth, development and be a draw because of our weather, amenities and outdoor activities... The list is what it is. I don’t put too much stock into it.

"Council is aware of both the challenges and opportunities facing our community and has regularly committed time, resources and funding towards both."

In ranking individual categories, Penticton fared best for weather (30), taxes (32) and commute (94). The city's overall ranking of 383 comes after listed at 335 last year.

The list rated Oakville, Ont., a Toronto suburb, as Canada's most liveable city. Of the top 50 cities, 25 were in Ontario while only three were in B.C.