Medicine Hat was ranked 39th in small Canadian cities / Photo: CHAT News File Photo

By Meghan Cobb

RANKED 39th IN CANADA

Officials say Medicine Hat ‘remarkable,’ ‘amazing’ despite low rank on top small cities list

Jul 12, 2022 | 5:21 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A recent report ranking small cities in Canada left Medicine Hat out of the top 25.

Resonance Consultants has been ranking the top large cities in Canada, the United States and around the world for the past seven years. This year, the tourism, real estate and economic development consulting firm turned its attention to Canadian cities with a population of 50,000 to 200,000 people.

“As we think about the post-COVID recovery and what people are prioritizing, we see a trend where a lot of Canadians are thinking about moving to smaller cities,” said Chris Fair, president of Resonance Consultants.

The report ranked cities based on six categories that have a positive correlation with attracting residents, tourists and businesses to a community. Place, product, programming, people, prosperity and promotion are all weighted equally, with data gathered from data sources from Weatherbase, Statistics Canada and Trip Advisor, among others.

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Only three Alberta cities made the list. Lethbridge came in at number 10, while St. Albert was listed at 14 and Airdrie at 22.

Cities like Victoria, Kelowna and North Vancouver topped the list. Fair said there are advantages to being a small city near a larger metropolitan hub, and for some of the data, further analysis is needed.

“It’s not exactly apples to apples comparing North Vancouver to Medicine Hat,” Fair said. “I always tell people these rankings are entertaining overall, but the real insights come from a more focused analysis.”

Despite being ranked 39th out of roughly 60 eligible cities, many Medicine Hat residents see the value of living in Alberta’s southeastern community.

“It’s a remarkable community,” said Jace Anderson, executive director of Tourism Medicine Hat. “It has a draw for the 60-some thousand people that live here.”

In a statement, Mayor Linnsie Clark said “although our city was not ranked in this particular publication, we know how amazing a place this is to live and work in.”

Clark says the city is working hard to attract investment and a strong workforce to the region citing the Move to Medicine Hat campaign being done in partnership with Medicine Hat Tourism.

“The reality is there’s a lot of people in the province and in the country that we won’t reach,” Anderson said. “We are focusing on reaching people who are likely to be inspired by the things that we do well from an authentic perspective, and getting in front of them and telling them who we are as a community.”

Those who already live in the community recognize there are opportunities for improvement, but overall are happy to call Medicine Hat home.

“I love the walking trails,” said Patricia Davidson. “I wish we’d grow a little bit, but it’s a nice size.”

Aurora Chunyk likes the fact there is one of everything in the city, saying “if you need it, you can find a store for it and you don’t have to travel too far.”

While Claire and Gary Hollingshead both enjoy the proximity to Elkwater and the ease of getting around town.

“We’re originally from Edmonton,” said Claire Hollingshead. “We were only going to be here for a year, but it’s been some 50 years now.”

Resonance Consultants does plan to revisit the small cities list next year to see how things change, meaning Medicine Hat can still move up the list.