Sault ranks in middle of 400 Canadian communities for quality of life, magazine states

Sault Ste. Marie is in the middle of the pack among communities across Canada when it comes to measuring overall quality of life.

The Sault is ranked 211 out of 415 communities in Canada according to Maclean’s news magazine’s ‘post-pandemic’ Best Communities in Canada study released this week.

The Sault’s top three strengths, according to the Maclean’s study, are Internet access, its amenities and affordability (specifically, housing affordability).

Wi-Fi access in the city is good overall.

Amenities, in a general sense, can include the availability and quality of hotels and availability of elevators, restaurants, parks, community centres, swimming pools, golf courses, health clubs, theatres and bike paths.

For Maclean’s, amenities included a good selection of bars and restaurants to choose from as well as proximity to an airport.

As far as housing affordability goes, the Sault’s real estate market is red hot, the ability to work at home and remotely during the pandemic a key factor in people relocating or ‘coming home’ from bigger, busier southern Ontario cities.

The average price of a Sault and area home sold in Dec. 2020 was approximately $224,000, up from Dec. 2019, according to local sources.

The Maclean’s Best Communities in Canada study evaluated communities based on housing affordability, taxes, crime, weather, healthcare, amenities, population growth, how engaged residents are with their communities and Internet quality.

Halifax, Fredericton and St. Thomas, Ontario were the top three in the Maclean’s study, while Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta came in last.

If coming in at 211 doesn’t sound great, the Sault still fared better than other major northern Ontario cities such as North Bay at 253, Thunder Bay at 254, Greater Sudbury at 262 and Timmins at 304.

Healthcare came in as one of three top strengths in North Bay, Thunder Bay and Greater Sudbury (along with Internet, amenities and affordability).

Stats for the Sault included in the Maclean’s study include:

• Population, 74,442
• Average value of prime real estate, $230,551
• Property tax as per cent of average income, 2.1

With the assumption that remote work is now here to stay, Maclean’s rated cities by focusing on people who don’t have to fret about finding a job within a good commuting distance, along with good quality Internet access, drawing on data provided by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), Environics Analytics and a variety of other sources.

The magazine’s study didn’t look at unemployment, as remote workers don’t necessarily need to have a local job, or the proximity of post secondary educational institutions, due to the explosion in remote learning. 

The Maclean’s Best Communities in Canada study may be found online.