[SFUVancouver]

The 2006 census was released today and I've sorted through it to find out how the lower mainland is looking. Enjoy.

Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area
Population 2006: 2,116,581
Population 2001: 1,986,965
Change: 6.5% (129,616 ppl/25,923 avg per year)
Pop density: 736 persons per sq km

City of Vancouver
Population 2006: 578,041
Population 2001: 545,671
Change: 5.9% (32,370 ppl/6,474 avg per year)
Pop density: 5,039 persons per sq km

City of Surrey
Population 2006: 394,976
Population 2001: 347,820
Change: 13.6% (47,156 ppl/9,431 avg per year)
Pop density: 1,245 persons per sq km

City of Burnaby
Population 2006: 202,799
Population 2001: 193,954
Change: 4.6% (8,845 ppl/1,769 avg per year)
Pop density: 2,275 persons per sq km

City of Richmond
Population 2006: 174,461
Population 2001: 164,345
Change: 6.2% (10,116 ppl/2,023 avg per year)
Pop density: 1,355 persons per sq km

City of Abbotsford
Population 2006: 123,864
Population 2001: 115,494
Change: 7.2% (8,370 ppl/1,674 avg per year)
Pop density: 345 persons per sq km

City of Coquitlam
Population 2006: 114,565
Population 2001: 112,890
Change: 1.5% (1,675 ppl/335 avg per year)
Pop density: 942 persons per sq km

Municipality of Delta
Population 2006: 96,723
Population 2001: 96,950
Change: -0.2% (-227 ppl/-45 avg per year)
Pop density: 527 persons per sq km

Municipality of Langley
Population 2006: 93,726
Population 2001: 86,896
Change: 7.9% (6,830 ppl/1,366 avg per year)
Pop density: 305 persons per sq km

District of North Vancouver
Population 2006: 82,562
Population 2001: 82,310
Change: 0.3% (252 ppl/50 avg per year)
Pop density: 514 persons per sq km

City of White Rock
Population 2006: 73,006
Population 2001: 66,391
Change: 10.0% (6,615 ppl/1,323 avg per year)
Pop density: 3,633 persons per sq km

Municipality of Maple Ridge
Population 2006: 68,949
Population 2001: 63,169
Change: 9.2% (5,780 ppl/1,156 avg per year)
Pop density: 259 persons per sq km

City of New Westminster
Population 2006: 58,549
Population 2001: 54,656
Change: 7.1% (3,893 ppl/779 avg per year)
Pop density: 3,800 persons per sq km

City of Port Coquitlam
Population 2006: 52,687
Population 2001: 51,257
Change: 2.8% (1,430 ppl/286 avg per year)
Pop density: 1,826 persons per sq km

City of North Vancouver
Population 2006: 45,165
Population 2001: 44,092
Change: 2.4% (1,073 ppl/215 avg per year)
Pop density: 3,812 persons per sq km

Municipality of West Vancouver
Population 2006: 42,131
Population 2001: 41,421
Change: 1.7% (710 ppl/142 avg per year)
Pop density: 484 persons per sq km

Municipality of Mission
Population 2006: 34,505
Population 2001: 31,272
Change: 10.3% (3,233 ppl/647 avg per year)
Pop density: 153 persons per sq km

City of Langley
Population 2006: 23,606
Population 2001: 23,643
Change: -0.2% (-37 ppl/-7 avg per year)
Pop density: 2,309 persons per sq km

Municipality of Pitt Meadows
Population 2006: 15,623
Population 2001: 14,670
Change: 6.5% (953 ppl/191 avg per year)
Pop density: 183 persons per sq km

Bowen Island Municipality
Population 2006: 3,362
Population 2001: 2,957
Change: 13.7% (405 pp/81 avg per year)
Pop density: 67 persons per sq km

Village of Anmore
Population 2006: 1,785
Population 2001: 1,344
Change: 32.8% (441 ppl/88 avg per year)
Pop density: 1,429 persons per sq km

Village of Lions Bay
Population 2006: 1,328
Population 2001: 1,379
Change: -3.7% (-51 ppl/-10 avg per year)
Pop density: 521 persons per sq km

Village of Belcarra
Population 2006: 676
Population 2001: 682
Change: -0.9% (-6 ppl/ -1 avg per year)
Pop density: 124 persons per sq km

[excel]

Thanks for the information.

[hollywoodnorth]

thanks for the post!

[djh]

Didn't Vancouver officially cross the 600,000 barrier in 2006?

[MistyMountainHop]

Didn't Vancouver officially cross the 600,000 barrier in 2006?

I thought they did.

[The_Henry_Man]

^Don't forget that there are people who outrightly refused to do the census 2006 form the past summer (I was a census 2006 enumerator in Richmond myself)!! So the population for all the cities could've been slightly higher.

[excel]

^For sure, i know many people who refused. Dont know why.

[muzhav84]

the census usually undercounts the population; in almost every census, the numbers have to be adjusted higher later on to account for missed counts. its just the nature of the measurement. in reality, most of the numbers are off by quite a few thousand (or more) to what the real population is. i believe vancouver is over 600,000 now

[cornholio]

Surrey should also be well over 400,000 now.

[raggedy13]

City of White Rock
Population 2006: 73,006
Population 2001: 66,391
Change: 10.0% (6,615 ppl/1,323 avg per year)
Pop density: 3,633 persons per sq km


What's the deal with this? White Rock should have no more than 20k. For whatever reason, South Surrey must be included in this, otherwise I don't see where those numbers are coming from.

[SFUVancouver]

I was also surprised by White Rock's population. Part of me likes to think that seniors respond in huge numbers to government surveys and White Rock is full of seniors, therefore it is the only place in the region that was accurately counted. (Vote early and often)

I also read in the paper that Delta's mayor is more than a little surprised that her municipality lost people in the last five years.

[fever]

White Rock, City
Population in 2006 18,755
Population in 2001 18,250

[SpongeG]

apparently cloverdale which is part of surrey was the largest grower in the GVRD

[skyscraper_1]

so Vancouver is in the Atlantic region now? wahooo!

[vid]

Vancouver, Nova Scotia has a nice ring to it. :)

[SFUVancouver]

^ Ah, that explains it. Thanks for the correction. It makes a lot more sense now.

[yogiderek]

the Metro paper had an interesting article on how the population growth was almost all in Downtown Vancouver. That at the same time, the similar population growth in downtown Surrey was practically nil. So, if we keep on looking at the oncoming structures in downtown Vancouver, we're just going to see a similiar spike again for the next census. I'm wondering how the area around Spectrum is going to change once all the towers are filled with residents. Plus with the Firenze and Espana, its going to be a more vital area of the downtown peninsula.

[fever]

The pattern on the Burrard Peninsula and in Richmond, with many exceptions, is that downtowns and regional town centres are growing and single-family neighbourhoods are shrinking. South of the Fraser, it's the other way around.

Exceptions appear to be South Vancouver (growing) and Delta (stagnant).

Here's the map by census tract:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/analysis/popdwell/maps/pdfs/CMA_CT_maps/Vancouver.pdf

Watch out for the big purple tracts. They don't really mean anything. Delta lost population.

[Rusty Gull]

Here's what I notice right off the bat when I look at the numbers: We are seeing an increasing East-West divide in the region, with most of the growth in the easterly suburbs, plus Surrey. The Surrey-Langley-Maple Ridge-TriCities-Mission region is clearly where the action is.

With the exception of downtown Vancouver, the City of Vancouver is stagnant. So too is the entire North Shore. Burnaby and Richmond are enjoying moderate growth.

But the explosive growth in the Fraser Valley has the potential to realign the political realities of this region, and I suspect that Kevin Falcon's Translink realignment is a testament to that. He, and the provincial government, have no choice but to cater to that increasingly important population base.

Of course, the dramatic shift will come when Surrey has a greater population than Vancouver. But we are seeing lots of subtle shifts already.

[G-Slice]

The North Shore News today had a front page article about how the North Van City vs. the District were growing... apparently the much larger District has only added FIFTY PEOPLE since the last census, but the City added over 1000.

http://www.nsnews.com/issues07/w031107/033307/news/033307nn1.html

[Rye $ingh]

I also read in the paper that Delta's mayor is more than a little surprised that her municipality lost people in the last five years.


Well i dont know why she is surprised, that municipality is not going to grow, almost all the land is in the ALR and they wont raise density, not alot of growth going to happend there. Its their own fault.

[cornholio]

^ Anyone know what hapend to the highrise proposal in Delta on scott road. There defenitly is alot of potential to desnify around that area and now that Delta sees that its built out maybe this will give them some more incentive to aprove such projects on Scott road to replace the strip malls etc.

[mackeast]

Surrey has 2000 ppl sq/km?? Seems like Surrey gets a bit too much guff about its low density, eh? Surrey is gonna start looking like Burnaby in a few years I think

[muzhav84]

this was just released from Stats Can. Population estimates for BC on Jan. 1 As you can see, BC is doing a lot better than the Census made it seem. Particularly note the bold items:

Canada's population estimates
Fourth quarter 2006 (preliminary)Previous releaseToday, Statistics Canada releases population estimates for Canada, the provinces and territories, as of January 1, 2007.

These estimates differ from the results of the 2006 Census published March 13, 2007 for two reasons. First, the population estimates are based on the 2001 Census counts, adjusted for net undercoverage, and updated between censuses using information on births, deaths and interprovincial and international migration derived from administrative sources.

Moreover, the 2006 Census provided population counts as of May 16, 2006 while these population estimates are providing population numbers as of January 1, 2007. Population estimates based on the 2006 Census counts, adjusted for net undercoverage, will be available in the fall of 2008. For more information on the subject, consult the detailed explanation.

Population estimates published today show new patterns in interprovincial migration between October and December 2006.

Oil-rich Alberta recorded a slowdown in net gains from interprovincial migration. The province, whose population has been growing rapidly thanks to a booming economy, had a net inflow of 11,800 people in the fourth quarter. This was down from 17,100 for the same period of last year.

As a result, the growth in Alberta's population during the fourth quarter slowed slightly to 0.65%, a bit slower than last year (+0.75%). Even so, this was still more than four times the 0.14% overall increase in Canada's estimated population.

This slowdown occurred in large part because of an increase in people leaving Alberta for other parts of the country. As a result, net gains from interprovincial migration increased for most other provinces, especially British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Fuelled by this shift in interprovincial migration patterns, Saskatchewan's population rose 0.21% during the fourth quarter. This was the first time in 23 years that the province's quarterly growth was faster than the national average. It was also the first time since 1996 that it recorded an increase in population for three consecutive quarters.

British Columbia was the only other province whose population rose faster (+0.25%) than the national average. Because of net gains in international and interprovincial migration, the province recorded its highest fourth quarter growth rate since 1996. British Columbia's net gains from other provinces were the highest for a fourth quarter since 1995.

The rate of demographic growth in Ontario (+0.04%) was lower than the national average for a second quarter in a row, a situation not observed since 1981. The province's net interprovincial migration from October to December 2006 (-10,100) was the lowest recorded for a fourth quarter since 1974 (-10,700).

Quebec's demographic growth for the last quarter (+0.09%) was similar to what was recorded last year at the same period and stays below the national average. The increase in net interprovincial migration losses offset the increase in births recorded in the province since the beginning of 2006.

In Manitoba, the population growth for the last three months of 2006 (+0.13%) was higher than the same period last year (+0.00%). This growth stays nonetheless lower than the country's average. It can be explained by smaller losses from interprovincial migration and by the highest fourth-quarter increase in immigrants since 1973.

The population rose in both Prince Edward Island (+0.03%) and New Brunswick (+0.02%) during the last quarter, but at a pace slower than the national average. At the same period in 2005, these two provinces experienced losses in population. The decrease in net losses from interprovincial migration explains this change in trends.

The population declined in Nova Scotia (-0.04%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-0.08%) the Northwest Territories (-0.36%) and Yukon (-0.38%) in the fourth quarter of 2006. The population of these four also declined during the fourth quarter of 2005. Yukon is the only area to have recorded larger losses than last year.

Nunavut was the only territory to record population growth. With its strong fertility, the territory had a growth rate (+0.31%) twice as fast as the national average.

As of January 1, 2007, Canada's population was estimated at 32,777,300, up 329,000 from January 1, 2006. During the year, the population grew 1.0%, with international migration accounting for two-thirds of the increase.