Calgary proves its resiliency in 7th annual Vital Signs survey
Posted Oct 1, 2013 7:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary’s seventh annual report card is in and residents are giving the city a passing grade.
Despite weathering the costliest disaster in Canadian history, the city still earned a B-plus in the Calgary Foundation’s Vital Signs survey.
It’s an annual check-up that measures the vitality of our community and identifies significant trends.
The poll measures citizen perceptions of 846 respondents from May to mid-July and combines it with expert research.
Given the fact it was taken during the costliest disaster in Canadian history, Calgary Foundation spokesperson Kerry Longpre tells 660News it highlights a real sense of resiliency from within the city.
Longpre says the results speak for themselves.
“91 per cent describe themselves as happy, 80 per cent say they’re mental well being is high and 79 per cent are very optimistic about it being a very good place to raise children,” she explains.
“The city of Calgary and this I think is astonishing good news, nearly 100 per cent of the city is fueled by renewable electricity.”
Officials credit a lot of Calgary’s good fortune to the economic times.
According to the report, unemployment is down and newcomers continue to flock to the city.
Cowtown is only behind Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver when it comes to new immigrants.
Citizen engagement was one of the only areas where the city saw improvement.
The city earned a B, which was not a surprise to Longpre given how neighbours were helping neighbours during the flood.
On the downside though, they’re having a tough time finding work or skilled labour.
Calgarians are becoming more and more worried about being able to afford a roof over their heads and there are questions over “food security.”
“Twenty-three per cent of single-parent families are still living below the poverty line,” says Longpre who fears it shows no signs of improving.
Families below the low-income cut-off are devoting a greater proportion of their pre-tax income to necessities like food and shelter.
B plus is also what the city earned in 2012.
