by Edith Cody-Rice
On Saturday January 31, the Globe and Mail published a long feature called Canada’s Most Liveable Cities. 454 cities were reviewed and the top 100 were ranked. Mississippi Mills appeared as number 85 overall. Four communities from across Canada that had moved the furthest up the ranking from last year’s edition were selected for additional comment. Mississippi Mills was among them as we had jumped by 224 points. We topped the economy rating for the entire country and came in 5th for safety.
I interviewed Mayor Christa Lowry to get her reaction to this story and to find out more about the data behind the ranking. Christa’s first reaction was to say that she was very proud but that the ranking is really a reflection of our community and the credit really belongs to the residents. She was not involved in the study and found out about the article just days before publication when a reporter contacted her for comment on the results.
In speaking of the economy, Christa commented that there are 1431 businesses in Mississippi Mills, nearly a quarter of all the businesses in Lanark County. The community benefits from a strong median household income of $100,000 (2020), a suggestion that most households enjoy financial security. Construction, Health Care and Social Assistance, public administration retail and professional scientific and technical services are the top five industries.
In the Globe article, Christa commented that Mississippi Mills is “still a place where people borrow a cup of sugar from next door, and we’re working to maintain that connectivity,”
Christa also talked to me about growth in Mississippi Mills. Many people have told her that they love the community but do not want it to grow. She herself would like to see the community stay the way it is, but recognizes that growth is inevitable. She wants the community to embrace change, and help plan in ways that keeps our friendly charm and rural character.
For the Globe, Christa attributed some of the improvements in community and trust to a recent expansion of the municipality ‘s highly successful microgrants program. The program awards seed funding for neighbourhood activities which promote relationships and neighbourly trust. It was developed by the former Community and Economic Development Committee and approved by Council in 2017 as part of the Canada 150 celebrations. Microgrants originally started at $150 each with a total budget of $2500.The grant amount was increased to $200 each in 2023 as a celebration of MM Bicentennial. Council now allocates $3600 in the budget annually for the program. The municipality awarded 14 Microgrants in 2025 ($2800). The majority of recipients apply to support neighbourhood or street parties and over the years most have become annual events! These grants have supported other great ideas such as a quilting bee, a youth art exhibit unveiling, new shade sails for Mark’s look-out, a cookbook club, the MM Poppy Project, Appleton Turtle protection project!
The neighbourhood microgrants program is a small program within the $171,000 investment Council has made in Community Safety and Well-being since 2024. Other initiatives include support for grassroots initiatives to strengthen mental health, inclusion, and community connection; efforts to reduce social isolation; collaborations with organizations to promote and partner on youth and seniors’ initiatives such as 211 promotion, youth leadership and emergency response kits for vulnerable residents during extreme weather or emergency events; traffic calming measures; pedestrian safety campaigns; and expansion of the Ride the LT community shuttle service with Lanark Transportation).
One of the things that is so important that as we grow is to encourage community pride and personal investment – gifts of time and talent.
We have many aspects of Mississippi Mills to celebrate and our cohesive and committed community is certainly central to life here in town. It is satisfying to be recognized in the national press.
