Not a boast you'll see on the welcome sign at Butze Rapids

Well this latest bit of publicity won't do much to turn the tide of negativity around the Northwest these days. For those looking to move to our neck of the woods, the impressions generated by a recent magazine article will surely have folks turning their GPS in a more southerly direction.

Moneysense magazine has just completed its second annual survey of the most livable cities in Canada and for boosters of the Northwest, the findings won't be kind, or welcome but they will be found in the May edition of the magazine.

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Of 154 cities surveyed by the magazine, Prince Rupert was listed in 149th place, 148 away from being considered the most livable, and but five away from being the least.

Only Terrace at 150, Williams Lake at 152, Campbell River at 153 and Port Alberni as number 154 rated worse results from British Columbia.

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Last year Prince Rupert finished 111 out of 123 cities, however with increased entries in this years survey the north coast tumbled to the bottom of the list as the competition pool increased.

There were a number of different variables used in determining their figures, with High unemployment (12.4 %), a declining population (last at -12.5% ), reduced availability of discretionary income (23 %) a lack of new cars (8%) and of course the always topical weather (last place thanks to the rain both in number of days and total precipitation) combining for a portion of the low rating for Prince Rupert.

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At the other end of the livability spectrum, Vancouver and Victoria made it into the top ten listings, with Vancouver claiming the number ten spot and Victoria pulling in at number two, just behind the overall winner Ottawa.

Leaving one to wonder if Moneysense's judges perhaps may rely on government funding in any form, such is the prominence given to "government" towns in the survey. One thing is certain however, we at least know who has the money needed for a subscription to the magazine and what their postal code may be.

The Vancouver Province featured a report on the listings in its Wednesday edition, while the full Moneysense review can be found here with the listings from 1 to 154 found here.