Prepared and written by the: Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley 201, 600 9th Street Canmore, AB T1W 2T2 www.biosphereinstitute.org Canmore Community Monitoring Program 2008 Final Report February 17, 2009 Photo Credits (on front cover, clockwise from top left): Parks Canada, Banff National Park; Jennifer Groundwater; Craig Douce, Rocky Mountain Outlook; Craig Douce, Rocky Mountain Outlook. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................................................I 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 1 PREFACE..................................................................................................................................................... 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 11 IDENTITY .................................................................................................................................................. 17 1. SENSE OF COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................... 20 2. PERMANENT POPULATION: LENGTH OF RESIDENCY, MIGRATION AND GROWTH RATE ........................ 22 3. PERMANENT POPULATION: AGE STRUCTURE........................................................................................ 25 4. NON-PERMANENT POPULATION ........................................................................................................... 28 5. FAMILY COMPOSITION.......................................................................................................................... 31 6. MOTHER TONGUE, IMMIGRATION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY............................................................. 33 ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................ 35 1. EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF ADULTS....................................................................................................... 39 2. EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY ................................................................................................................ 44 3. INCOME AND WAGES ............................................................................................................................ 46 4. MUNICIPAL TAX BASE RATIO............................................................................................................... 49 5. BUSINESS LICENSE REGISTRY............................................................................................................... 51 6. BUILDING PERMIT SUMMARY............................................................................................................... 53 7. TOURISM INDUSTRY ............................................................................................................................. 55 8. TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS AND OCCUPANCY RATES ....................................................................... 58 SOCIAL FABRIC ...................................................................................................................................... 60 1. VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS .............................................................................................................. 64 2. LIBRARY FACILITIES AND USE.............................................................................................................. 66 3. EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH................................................................................................ 68 4. EDUCATION LEVEL OF ADULTS ............................................................................................................ 73 5. FOOD SECURITY ................................................................................................................................... 74 7. SOCIAL ASSISTANCE............................................................................................................................. 77 8. CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS AND PROPERTY ......................................................................................... 79 9. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ........................................................................................................................... 81 10. ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE .................................................................................................................. 83 11. HEALTH SERVICES.............................................................................................................................. 84 11. DWELLING UNIT TYPES ...................................................................................................................... 86 12. TENANCY STATUS OF DWELLING UNITS............................................................................................. 88 13. OCCUPANCY RATES............................................................................................................................ 89 14. RENTAL HOUSING COSTS AND AVAILABILITY.................................................................................... 90 15. AVERAGE HOUSE AND CONDOMINIUM RESALE PRICES...................................................................... 92 16. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.................................................................................................................. 94 ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP ................................................................................................... 98 1. AIR QUALITY...................................................................................................................................... 105 2. WATER CONSUMPTION AND QUALITY................................................................................................ 108 3. WASTEWATER .................................................................................................................................... 114 4. AQUATIC HEALTH AND FISHERIES...................................................................................................... 117 4. SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING.......................................................................................................... 120 ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2008 Canmore Community Monitoring Report I 6. ENERGY USE AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS............................................................................... 125 7. TRANSPORTATION .............................................................................................................................. 128 8. WILDLIFE MOVEMENT CORRIDORS AND HABITAT PATCHES.............................................................. 130 9. BEAR ATTRACTANTS .......................................................................................................................... 137 10. WILDLIFE INCIDENTS AND OUTCOMES ............................................................................................. 140 11. TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS AND WILDLIFE................................................................................. 144 12. QUANTITATIVE LAND USES.............................................................................................................. 146 13. WILDLAND/URBAN INTERFACE – WILDFIRE PROTECTION................................................................ 149 14. FOREST HEALTH ............................................................................................................................... 153 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP...................................................................................... 158 1. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT........................................................................................................................... 160 2. VOTER PARTICIPATION....................................................................................................................... 163 3. SUSTAINABILITY IMPLEMENTATION AND INITIATIVES........................................................................ 164 4. REPORTING/MONITORING PROCESS.................................................................................................... 167 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 168 APPENDIX A: IDENTITY...................................................................................................................... 178 APPENDIX B: ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY................................................................................ 183 APPENDIX C: SOCIAL FABRIC.......................................................................................................... 190 APPENDIX D: ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP....................................................................... 200 ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2008 Canmore Community Monitoring Report II 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to monitor and evaluate trends developing in Canmore. The focus is on the demographic, social, economic and environmental issues that Canmore faces. The sections of the report are organized as per the 2006 Mining the Future Vision of Canmore, which provides foundational values and goals for