Strathmore ranks high among ‘best communities’

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore has gained new recognition as a great place to live.

Each year, Maclean’s magazine releases its Best Communities in Canada, and this year, Strathmore was ranked as the number six community in Alberta, behind Edmonton (highest), Brooks, Medicine Hat, Calgary and High River.

In Canada overall, Strathmore ranked 51 out of 415 communities, representing a leap from its previous rank in 2019 (a 2020 ranking was not performed) when it placed 308 out of 415 communities.

“Some things are going very right for us, because we’ve moved up a huge amount,” said Mayor Pat Fule.

As a “measuring stick,” Strathmore has often looked to High River, as it has a similar size, population, and growth and development opportunities, said Fule, who added for the two communities to be ranked so close is encouraging.

The ranking considers several factors influencing quality of life in each community, including taxes, property values, crime, weather, health, amenities, population growth and community involvement. It also considered the quality of internet available in each community for the first time, with more work, school and recreation being done online.

This year, Strathmore’s top feature was its internet quality, which allows 13 household members able to do remote work or school on a single internet connection.

Strathmore’s second-ranked feature was its taxes. This was calculated through two metrics, including property tax as a percentage of average income locally, and provincial tax rate. For Strathmore, property tax as percent of average income is 1.6 per cent, and the provincial tax rate for an average family is 40 per cent.

There has been a notion that taxes are high locally, but Fule noted this is untrue, as Strathmore has lower property taxes among municipalities in the Calgary Metropolitan Region, except for High River. “Sometimes old rumours and beliefs are hard to dispel.”

Health was the third feature for Strathmore, which is something current and past town representatives have worked to improve. 

“Quite a few years back, the council I was on worked very hard with our administration to attract doctors to town,” said Fule. “We went from having a doctor shortage to now having a lot of doctors.”

This year’s ranking changed because of impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Categories assessing the local economy were removed, because remote workers will not have to necessarily look for a job nearby. The Town of Strathmore has seen how its own employees’ work has changed, with more staff working remotely throughout the pandemic, noted Fule, who commends Strathmore residents at finding new ways to explore and enjoy the town throughout the pandemic.

“Although the COVID situation has been very hard on a lot of people, it’s also allowing people to rediscover more simple things that they can do outside,” he said. “We’re finding that people are able to get out and become more involved in activities that can help their health.”