The Town of Okotoks has recently been ranked as one of the Most Livable Cities in Canada. Photo by Stephen Strand
The Town of Okotoks has been ranked as one of the Most Livable Cities in Canada, and as the Most Livable in the province.
The Globe and Mail has ranked Canadian cities to determine their ranks for the past few years, with their goal being to move beyond the typical discussion of housing process and real estate markets.
Their ranking system uses nearly 60 variables across 10 categories, which include things like safety, housing, and health care.
On top of the Town of Okotoks being the top Alberta place listed, they rank as 29th overall in Canada, which is up 24 spots from the previous year.
While Okotoks was listed as the 29th Most Livable City in Canada, they are still a town.
Okotoks Mayor, Tanya Thorn, explains.
The next highest Alberta location is Strathcona County, which, like Okotoks, is not a city.
Strathcona County, which came in at 39th, is a specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region that is home to the hamlet of Sherwood Park.
Meanwhile, Calgary dropped 71 positions and is now ranked as the 77th Most Livable City, and Edmonton dropped 59 positions, and is now ranked as the 90th Most Livable City in Canada.
Last year, the Town of Okotoks won the 2025 Canadian Event Award for “Best Event for a City or Municipality” for their Light Up Okotoks event.
When asked how it feels being the Mayor of a Town that is the Most Livable City in Alberta and the winner of the Best Event award, Mayor Thorn says she was just in the right place at the right time.
Mayor Thorn adds that while this ranking is bragging rights, political decisions are not made to improve that score, but off what’s best for the community.
Okotoks also ranked as the 10th Most Livable City for Retirement, which happens to be the only place in Alberta in the top 20.
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