HOW WE CRUNCHED THE NUMBERS
In our quest to identify British Columbia’s most economically resilient cities, we analyzed 10 key metrics, each assigned weightings ranging from 5 to 15 percent. Carried over from the previous year, our post-pandemic indicators examine a broader perspective of economic resiliency than in years past, including aspects of social and environmental resiliency. Each city was assigned a score out of 100 points and is ranked based on their performance.
Five-year population growth (maximum score of 10 points)
This figure represents the population growth for each city from 2018 to 2023. We gave the highest-growth city 10 points and scored the others in proportion to that.
Household financial vulnerability (15 points)
This figure—an index created by Environics Analytics—looks at a range of household financial variables, including debt, liquid assets and discretionary income, to show how precarious a typical household’s finances are in a given city. The higher the index value, the more vulnerable a city’s households are on average. Therefore, we gave the lowest value 15 points and scored the others in relation to that.
Resident sense of belonging (5 points)
This value represents the sense of belonging that a resident has within their community, as derived from Environics Analytics’ Community Life Survey. Cities who had a greater share of residents reporting a “very strong” or “somewhat strong” sense of belonging scored higher than those with more residents reporting a “somewhat weak” or “very weak” sense of belonging. We assumed that cities with a stronger sense of community had stronger social resiliency. The city with the highest sense of belonging received a score of 5, with the others scoring in proportion.
Residential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per 10,000 residents (5 points)
This number reveals the amount of residential GHG emissions produced by a city annually per 10,000 residents, measured in tons of CO2. Derived from B.C.’S Provincial GHG Emissions Inventory, this value reflects residential energy use, including emissions estimates from electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, and propane consumption. Given the economic risk and uncertainty posed by climate change, as well as the impact unpredictable geopolitical events can have on energy prices, we assumed a positive correlation between a city’s environmental and economic resilience. As cities that use less energy and/or cleaner sources see fewer emissions on average, the city with the lowest value received 5 points, with the others scoring accordingly.
Rental vacancy rate (10 points)
This indicator reflects the reported vacancy rate for rental housing units from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s annual Rental Market Survey. Housing market observers, such as the Royal Bank of Canada, consider a healthy rental vacancy rate to be between 3% and 5%. Therefore, a vacancy rate of 4% received the maximum score of 10, with cities above or below that value scoring proportionately less.
Residential sales per 10,000 residents (10 points)
This number, from quarterly BC Assessment data, reflects the year-todate sales totals for single-family and strata residential properties to the end of September 2023. After dividing sales totals by total city population, we multiplied that figure by 10,000 to determine the number of sales per 10,000 residents. We gave the highest value 10 points and scored the others accordingly.
Housing starts per 10,000 residents (10 points)
We derived this value from the year-to-date housing starts from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s monthly Starts and Completions Survey to the end of September 2023. The city with the highest number of housing starts per 10,000 residents (Saanich took it this year) received a score of 10, with the other cities scoring in relation to that.
Change in jobs per 10,000 residents (10 points)
This figure measures the change in the employed labour force from January to September 2023, derived from Statscan’s monthly Labour Force Survey. We scored the yearto-date difference in jobs out of a maximum value of 10.
Average annual unemployment rate (10 points)
We averaged unemployment rates for each city from the first three quarters of the year. The averages were derived from rates reported in Statscan’s monthly Labour Force Survey for January through September 2023. We gave the lowest average 10 points and evaluated the others in relation to that.
Economic diversity (15 points)
This value is derived by applying the Herfindahl–hirschman Index—a common means of measuring diversity—to Statscan employment data to determine labour force diversity. The closer this number is to 10,000, the less diverse a city’s workforce is.