Boucherville, a South Shore town of 40,000, is Canada’s best place to live according to a new survey by Moneysense.ca
Boucherville beat out 208 other Canadian cities to earn the crown, thanks to its low unemployment, high incomes, affordable housing, healthy population growth, public transit and sport and arts scenes. Its failure to earn credit for good weather and low taxes were not enough to torpedo it from top spot.
The city east of Longueuil at the foot of the Lafontaine Tunnel was named after founder Pierre Boucher and is known for being the home of the headquarters of the Rona hardware chain as well as for being the birthplace of singer Ginette Reno, tennis player Sebastien Lareau and hockey player Stephane Quintal.
Ottawa, Burlington, Ontario, St. Albert, Alberta and Blainville, Quebec rounded out the top five. Levis and Quebec City were the only other Quebec municipalities to crack the top 10, at eight and 10 respectively.
As for Montreal? The country's second-largest city was ranked 161, only earning credit for being easy to walk with good transit and for having a strong sports and arts community. On the bright side, Montreal rose eight spots from last year's ranking of 169.
Other Quebec cities on the list include Brossard at 14, Gatineau 17, Rimouski 27, Repentigny 29, Sherbrooke 48, St. Georges, 53, Terrebonne 59, Laval 60, Ste. Hyacinthe 68, St. Jean sur Richelieu, 78, St. Eustache, 83 Chateauguay 93, Longueuil 98, Sorel-Tracy 102, Dolalrd 115, Riviere du Loup 116, Trois Rivieres 118, Joliette 125, St. Jerome 127, Mirabel 131, Baie Comeau 132, Granby 133, Cowansville 134, Mascouche 151, Amos 154, Victoriaville 156, Montreal 161, Rouyn-Noranda 164, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield 165, Saguenay 168, Thetford Mines 180, Val-d’Or 182, Alma 187, Sept-Îles 188, Drummondville 192, Matane 198, Shawinigan 199, Lachute 202, Dolbeau-Mistassini 203.
Lowest marks went to Truro and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia which earned credit only for affordable housing.
