The Frontier Centre has released its 7th annual Local Government Performance Index.
It measures 100 Canadian cities on their financial performance and overall transparency.
Measuring almost 30,000 individual data points, the Index is designed to shed light on how Canada’s largest municipalities are performing in comparison to others across the country.
This year Edmonton was ranked as the most transparent city in the country, along with Markham and Mississauga.
Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat tied for 9th place, and Regina was 14th.
Saskatoon and Kitchener are the most improved cities this year, both finishing together in the 22nd position, while the city of Winnipeg placed 47th out of 100.
The Index presents absolute, per capita and per household figures for property taxes, debt levels, and total spending.
After placing 5th last year, Toronto dropped down to 22nd place, despite getting the exact same score as last year.
Average scores are improving across the country, meaning that cities need to improve their performance just to maintain their ranking.
Financial transparency is a critical part of municipal government and is essential to ensure that public funds are used in a responsible manner.
To learn more, and to see the details about your community’s score, visit www.lgpi.ca.
I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.
