Population declines in majority of tri-county municipal units
According to the 2021 Statistics Canada census, the population has declined in seven of the 11 municipal units in Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby counties since 2016.
SHELBURNE COUNTY
In Shelburne County, the Municipality of Shelburne was the only unit out of the five municipal units to record a population increase.
According to the 2021 census, the population of Shelburne municipality was 4,336, compared to 4,288 in 2016, a population percentage change of 1.1 percent.
At 10.4 percent, the Town of Lockeport had the biggest population percentage decrease. The town’s population dropped to 476 in 2021 from 531 in 2016.
The population of the
Town of Shelburne decreased by 5.7 percent, according to the census, from 1,743 in
2016 to 1,644 in 2021.
The Town of Clark’s Harbour also experienced a population percentage decrease of 4.4 percent; from 758 people in 2016 to 725 in 2021.
In the Municipality of Barrington, the population decreased by 1.9 percent, from 6,646 in 2016 to 6,523 in
2021.
In the past 20 years, the population of Shelburne County has decreased from 16,231 to 13,704 people. In the 1996 census, the population of Shelburne County was recorded at 17,002.
In Digby County, only the Municipality of Digby saw population growth (1.9 percent) according to the census The municipality’s population in 2021 was 7,242 compared to 7,107 in 2016.
A 4.2 percent population percentage decrease was recorded for the Municipality of Clare, which went from 8,018 in 2016 to 7,678 in 2021.
The population of the
Town of Digby dropped by
2.9 percent according to the census, from 2,060 in 2016 to 2,001 in 2021.
The total population of Digby County has decreased from 19,548 people in 2001 to 16,921 in 2021. The 1996 census recorded the population of Digby County at 20,500.
YARMOUTH COUNTY
Two of the three municipal units in Yarmouth County experienced population growth, according to the census.
The Town of Yarmouth saw a 4.8 percent increase, from 6,518 in 2016 to 6,829 in 2021.
The population of the Municipality of Yarmouth increased by 2.3 percent from 9,845 in 2016 to 10,067 in 2021.
In the Municipality of Argyle, the population declined slightly (0.4 percent) from 7,899 in 2016 to 7,870 in
2021.
Since 2001, the total population of Yarmouth County has decreased from 26,843 to 24,766 people. In 1996 the population of the Yarmouth County was recorded at 27,310.