Once a humble place to stop along the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), Calgary became a city in 1894 before Alberta was even an official province.
Developing quickly, with the help of the CPR, who was a prominent land owner and developer, into a farming community and later a hub for the cattle industry, it eventually earned the nickname “cow town.”
As it turns out, that nickname stuck.
Calgary, or “cow town,” is now a world-class destination, hosting the world’s largest outdoor rodeo annually and housing the second-largest urban park in Canada, among many other achievements.
So it’s no surprise that it’s been named the most livable city in North America and the third most livable in the world by the 2022 Economist Intelligence Report!
What makes a city livable?
The Economist Intelligence calculates livability based on five categories: stability, culture and environment, healthcare, education and infrastructure, with each category receiving its own weight and being further broken into more detailed ratings.
With that in mind, you can imagine why Calgary ranked so high!
It’s important to note that factors such as COVID-19 restrictions and the war in Ukraine have significantly impacted certain cities' livability.
For example, Houston, TX, where COVID-19 restrictions ceased to exist early into 2021, rose significantly in the ranks for that year. And since the rest of the world has shifted COVID-19 to “endemic status,” average global livability has increased.
Conversely, the war on Ukraine forced a complete abandonment of the survey on Kyiv and caused many Russian cities to drop significantly in the ranks.
What about Kelowna?
With beautiful scenery and mild weather, living in Kelowna can feel like a never-ending vacation, especially in the summer months.
So you may be wondering where Kelowna landed in the rank – and the answer is, it didn’t.
Why? Because it’s not "on the map" quite yet, as far as the EIU is concerned.
The EIU only includes 172 cities in their report, leaving plenty of room for smaller or less well known cities like Kelowna to be left out of the running.
If you consider the same factors the EIU uses: stability, culture and environment, healthcare, education and infrastructure, where do you think Kelowna would rank relative to Calgary?
