A long way to go for Canadian cities to be youthful

Top-ranked Toronto only receives a C grade in first ever Canadian YouthfulCities Index

TORONTO, May 9, 2018 /CNW/ - A new comprehensive index ranking 13 Canadian cities based on 121 urban indicators shows cities from coast-to-coast have a long way to go in meeting the needs and priorities of the next generation that will build local communities and companies, and drive civic engagement in Canada.

These are the scores from the first YouthfulCities Canadian Index, released today. Canadian cities were ranked out of a total 1,643 points and the results are:

1. Toronto (1033.63)
2. Vancouver (1006.00)
3. Montreal (974.73)
4. Ottawa (760.91)
5. Edmonton (757.39)
6. Calgary (721.25)
7. Quebec City (717.89)
8. Winnipeg (715.01)
9. Moncton (684.28)
10. Saskatoon (660.19)
11. Halifax (654.01)
12. Hamilton (604.51)
13. St. John's (581.42)

"Cities around the world are competing to become more livable, smart, innovative and desirable," says YouthfulCities Co-founder Robert Barnard. "Simply put, cities are competing to become more youthful — more connected, dynamic, curious, open, inventive and playful. While we know how much Canada depends on its cities as economic and social engines, Canadian cities can be and need to be doing more."

Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Executive Officer of Creative Housing Society and former Chief Planner for the City of Toronto, sees a clear link between the health of Canadian cities and the environments they create for youth to live and thrive.

"We are just at the beginning of massive changes in our cities related to immigration, mobility and the changing nature of work," Keesmaat says. "Many of these changes will be driven by and impact younger Canadians. This data is a treasure trove for planners, policy makers and our civic leaders."

The top three Canadian cities in the Index — Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — are clustered closely and only receive a C-grade when evaluated along priorities important to youth (defined as 15 to 29 year-olds). The priority categories are Live (Digital Access, Health, Transit, Civic Engagement, Safety, Environment, Diversity); Play (Film, Music, Creative Arts, Fashion, Sport, Food and Nightlife, Travel, Public Space); and Work (Employment, Environment, Financial Services, Education, Entrepreneurship, Affordability).  The second wave — Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Moncton, Saskatoon, Halifax — fail to get a passing grade, while Hamilton and St. John's fall even further behind.

"Clearly, Canadian cities have work to do," Barnard says. "The good news is: every city in the Index ranks near or close to the top in one or more categories, and that is a starting point for each of these cities to build upon."

For example, Montreal ranks number one in Digital Access (followed by Vancouver and Ottawa), Moncton takes top spot in Education (followed by St. John's and Vancouver) and Edmonton is most Affordable (followed by Quebec City and Calgary). A complete report of the data can be found at www.youthfulcities.com/canadian-urban-index.

How the YouthfulCities Index was ranked
The YouthfulCities Canadian Index is connected to a global database that measured, compared and ranked the 13 cities across 20 Urban Attributes using a total of 121 indicators. The indicators consist of primary and secondary data collected by young urban researchers in each community. Data is collected locally, submitted using collaborative, cloud-based research workbooks, checked centrally, normalized and then scored to create rankings for all 20 urban attributes.

SOURCE YouthfulCities

Paul Welsh (NATIONAL), 604-761-5349; Jane Taber (NATIONAL), 416-700-8798; Robert Barnard, (YouthfulCities), 416-953-9956