5 CENSUS TRENDS

From Western Canada’s growing demographic clout, to how the government surveys an evacuated wildfire zone, Wednesday’s census reveals surprising trends about Alberta and Canada,

1 Lethbridge is urbanizing

Because of population counts and career trends documented in the 2011 census, Statistics Canada has now classified Lethbridge as a metropolitan area, with orbiting commuter communities. It’s actually the fifth-fastest growing urban zone in Canada, following Saskatoon and Regina. Though its 92,729 population is outweighed by Red Deer’s 100,418 citizens, Lethbridge has a dense core that is attracting surrounding residents.

2 Single-family homes

Alberta’s becoming increasingly suburban, with some of the fastest growth happening on the ring-road edges of Calgary and Edmonton, and the surrounding bedroom communities. The 2011 census showed inner-city neighbourhoods gradually aging and dwelling counts suggest more people in Calgary’s northwest and southeast neighbourhoods live alone. Meanwhile, more homes are being built at each city’s borders, in what Statistics Canada calls “urban spread.”

3 Tsuu T’ina drops 20 per cent

In 2011, Tsuu T’ina Nation counted 2,052 residents. But last May’s census puts the population at 1,643, meaning one-fifth fewer residents on the Sarcee reserve. No one in the band council could speak to the issue Wednesday.

4 More MPs for Western Canada?

University of Calgary political scientist David Stewart notes that Alberta and British Columbia have together surpassed Quebec’s population by seven per cent, but the two provinces count just 76 seats in the House of Commons, compared with Quebec’s 78 seats. That means Quebec MPs serve nine per cent fewer constituents. “That disparity is likely to attract some political attention,” Stewart said. The last federal electoral redistribution was in 2012, and they usually happen once a decade.

5 Wildfire census

The census includes estimates for Fort McMurray, which was engulfed in flames when data collection started last May. Somehow, roughly 10 per cent of residents who were mailed a form managed to complete it. Marc Hamel, the census’ director general, said Statistics Canada used existing data to create an estimate, while taking Wood Buffalo’s transient worker population into account. In August, a hundred enumerators returned, asking a quarter of homes to complete the long-form census.