The Canadian Population Census Highlights

The Canadian government has release the 2011 Census. This census compiles data from across Canada to summarize the population and population trends. It is used as a tool in a variety of fields and studies. Most importantly it helps decision makers come to an informed assessment of their community and how it has changed, and give insight into how it will continue to change. Let’s first look at the highlights copied from the census summary of the Canadian population in 2011. Next week we are going to examine how this information will affect relocation in Canada.
Highlights
• On May 10, 2011, 33,476,688 people were enumerated in the census. This is almost twice as many as in 1961 and approximately 10 times as many as in the 1861 Census.
• Between 2006 and 2011, Canada’s population grew by 5.9%, up slightly from the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006), when it grew by 5.4%.
• Canada’s population growth between 2006 and 2011 was the highest among G8countries, as was the case in the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006).
• Every province and most territories saw its population increase between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of population growth increased in all provinces and territories between 2006 and 2011, except in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• Saskatchewan had a strong increase in the growth of its population, going from 1.1% between 2001 and 2006 to 6.7% between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of population growth has doubled in Yukon and Manitoba since 2006.
• The rate of population growth of Prince Edward Island (+3.2%), New Brunswick (+2.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.8%) has increased substantially between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of Ontario’s population growth declined slightly in the past five years to 5.7%, its lowest level since the period between the 1981 and 1986 censuses.
• In Quebec, population growth increased slightly, from 4.3% between 2001 and 2006 to 4.7% between 2006 and 2011.
• In 2011, the population share of the Prairie provinces and British Columbia was 30.7%, for the first time surpassing that of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec combined (30.6%).
• In metropolitan and non-metropolitan Canada, only census metropolitan areas as a group have registered a population growth above the national average since 2006, 7.4% compared with 5.9%.
• In 2011, more than 23.1 million people, or nearly 7 Canadians in 10 (69.1%), were living in one of Canada’s 33 census metropolitan areas, an increase compared with 2006 (68.1%).
• Of all census metropolitan areas located in the Prairie provinces and British Columbia, only Winnipeg (+5.1%) and Victoria (+4.4%) had population growth below the national average.
• The rate of population growth in almost all census metropolitan areas located in Ontario slowed between 2006 and 2011.
• Between 2006 and 2011, 10 of 15 census agglomerations with the highest population growth were located in Alberta.