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Canmore, Alberta
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Alberta

Canmore

Coal town that reinvented for the Olympics

Canmore in brief

Canadian Pacific Railway director Donald A. Smith named Canmore in 1884 after Malcolm III of Scotland, whose Gaelic nickname meant Big Chief. Queen Victoria granted a coal charter in 1886; the No. 1 mine opened in 1887, and an NWMP barrack later sat on Main Street.

When the mines closed in 1979 the town looked shaky until Calgary won the 1988 Winter Olympics and Canmore hosted the Nordic events. That pivot turned Bow Valley coal country into a mountain recreation base beside Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country.

Drawn from Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura.

Permits, tax, radon & more for Canmore

Open the live numbers for Canmore. Each link goes to the original topic page for this city.

PermitsBrowseBuilding permits overviewTaxBrowseProperty tax overviewInternetInternet for CanmoreRadonRadon for CanmoreHazardsHazards for CanmoreWaterWater quality for Canmore

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#96
City Score rank
26%
City Score
1
Owned lists in score

City Score over time

The green line averages OpenStats-owned rankings (radon, permit value, mill rates). Grey dots mark every published placement across all studies below.

0%25%50%75%100%2014201520172018201920232026
OpenStats City ScoreIndividual published rankings

Rankings for Canmore

Each study below is its own ranking. Where a study has more than one edition for this city, the chart shows standing across those years only.

Composite · OpenStats

OpenStats City Score

OpenStats

Average standing across OpenStats-owned rankings built from public data (currently radon, building permit value, and residential mill rates). Each placement is scored from 0–1 within its edition, then averaged. External livability lists stay on hometown pages as separate published appearances.

Single edition · 2026

#96
Published · 2026 · of 125
Score 0.265

Only one published edition places Canmore in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Health · OpenStats

OpenStats Highest Indoor Radon

OpenStats

Communities ranked by Health Canada survey mean indoor radon (Bq/m³). Rank 1 is the highest mean.

Single edition · 2026

#31
Published · 2026 · of 117
Score 135.1

Only one published edition places Canmore in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Livability

Globe and Mail Most Livable Cities

The Globe and Mail

2023 data partnership with Environics Analytics ranking 439 Canadian communities on ten livability categories.

Single edition · 2023

#13
Published · 2023 · of 439

Only one published edition places Canmore in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Livability

Maclean's Best Communities

Maclean's

Successor-style municipal livability ranking published by Maclean's for 2019 and 2021 (no 2020 edition).

Single edition · 2019

#28
Published · 2019 · of 415

Only one published edition places Canmore in this study so far. Open the edition for method notes and the full table.

Original source · Full edition

Worth knowing in Canmore

Distinctive local notes and places, each linked to its source.

  • Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately 81 kilometres (50 mi) west of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park.

    Wikipedia

  • It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rocky Mountains.

    Wikipedia

  • The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of Bighorn No.

    Wikipedia

  • Canmore hosted Nordic skiing events for the 1988 Winter Olympics and still operates the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park.

    Wikipedia

Places to see

The Vault

Near Canmore off the Trans-Canada Highway, unfinished Cold War-era document vault chambers were carved into Mount McGillivray limestone and abandoned after the private project went bankrupt.

Related guides

Indoor radonBuilding permitsMill ratesNatural hazardsBroadbandWater hardnessConstruction PulseStudies

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