City of Colwood officials are celebrating this week after the municipality scored some impressive results in a Money Sense list ranking Canada’s best places to live.
The list took median household income, unemployment rates, weather and taxes into account, among other criteria.
Overall, Colwood ranked 19th nationwide and fourth in the province.
“I think to rank that high amongst a lot of beautiful communities speaks volumes to how far Colwood has come over the years. It’s really quite an honour,” said Coun. Gordie Logan.
Colwood also earned high marks as a place to raise children, taking the top spot in B.C., although that was only good enough for 86th nationwide as that list was dominated by Quebec and Ontario.
Logan, a father of three young children, noted that an improved focus on families from the City is part of the reason it was able to outpace its provincial competition.
“[We’ve] built connections between communities,” he said, mentioning the newly-opened Painter Trail and Esquimalt Lagoon as examples.
Logan also credited the Sooke School District and the municipality’s vast recreational opportunities as examples of what makes the community kid-friendly.
Langford finished 114th overall, while View Royal, Highlands and Metchosin weren’t part of the rankings.
Ottawa topped the list, just ahead of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que. and Oak Bay.
North Saanich (4th), Saanich (11th), Central Saanich (14th) and North Vancouver (20th) were the other B.C. municipalities to make the top 20.