Saskatoon may be dangerous, but it's artsie, says Maclean's

Maclean's giveth; and Maclean's taketh away. Not so long ago, Maclean's declared Saskatoon to be virtually tied with its sister city, Regina, as the most dangerous city in Canada, based on crime statistics. Naturally, the citizens complained.

Now, it has declared that Saskatoon is Canada's third-smartest city, according to the June 8 edition of the magazine. Only Calgary and Victoria rank higher on the scale, measured by the Canadian Council of Learning "lifelong learning index".

According to a story in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

Canada's overall score on the council's index actually dropped for the first time since it has been compiled, with the country's average score falling two points to 75 compared to 2008. The drop is associated with "informal learning" measurements, such as arts and culture spending and attendance, according to the council. Saskatoon's score, too, dipped slightly by one point from last year.

Rose Gilks, general manager of SaskCulture, a non-profit organization with more than 100 cultural groups as members, is not surprised that the city ranks so high.

"Saskatchewan was the first jurisdiction outside of London, England, to create an arts board," she said.

The Regina Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 100th anniversary and the Saskatchewan Music Festival Association is in its 50th year, she added.

"These are amazing milestones for a province this big and with such a small population," said Gilks.

Maclean's found that Saskatoon spent more than anywhere else on the performing arts -- 52.4 per cent of homes paid for performance arts -- and ranks in the top 3 for percentage of homes spending to go to museums and on books and other reading matter. Regina is No. 2 for the number of households that spent money on reading.