[MolsonExport]

Canada's population estimates
Fourth quarter 2008 (preliminary)

Canada's population grew by 0.19% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the fastest fourth-quarter growth rate since 1992. The increase in population continues to be steadier in the western part of the country, notably in Alberta.

As of January 1, 2009, Canada's population was an estimated 33,504,700, up 63,400 from October 1, 2008.

The increased pace in population growth can be explained by a marked increase in net international migration, specifically a rise in net non-permanent residents.

During the fourth quarter of 2008, the net international migration to Canada rose to 35,700, an increase of 7,700 compared with the same period in 2007.

Net losses in non-permanent residents went from 17,500 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 7,700 in the fourth quarter of 2008. This had the affect of increasing Canada's net international migration by 9,700.

Immigration to Canada reached 53,600 during the four quarter of 2008, declining by just over 2,000 from the same quarter of 2007.

Except for Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories, the population rose in every province and territory during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Sustained demographic growth in the West
Demographic growth remained higher in Western Canada in the fourth quarter. The four provinces west of Ontario all posted growth rates higher than the national level.

Alberta continued to be the province posting the country's highest demographic growth. At 0.60%, the pace of Alberta's population growth is more than triple the national rate.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Alberta's net international migration increased and reached 9,000, a level never before seen for a fourth quarter. The number of non-permanent residents grew by 6.3%, the fastest growth in the country. In addition, the province received 5,200 immigrants during the period, a level not seen in a fourth quarter since 1981.

The growth in Alberta was also supported by an increase in net interprovincial migration. During the fourth quarter of 2008, Alberta recorded a net increase of 6,200 people through population exchanges from other parts of the country, compared with 900 the previous year.

Moderate growth for Ontario
In the fourth quarter, the population growth of Ontario (+0.08%) continued to be below the national level. During this period, the province registered a net outflow in interprovincial migration of 6,500 people, the largest fourth quarter net outflow since 1975.

Ontario received 23,800 immigrants in the fourth quarter of 2008, 2,400 less than during the same period in 2007. The province's attraction for new immigrants continues to diminish. During the fourth quarter, Ontario received slightly less than 45% of the country's new immigrants.

The Atlantic region posts demographic growth
In the fourth quarter, all the Atlantic provinces, except for Prince Edward Island, posted population growth.

With demographic growth of 0.07%, New Brunswick dominated the region in the fourth quarter. The province's growth can be explained by a dual increase in both its net interprovincial and international migrations. Total migration net inflows in New Brunswick reached 500, a level not observed in a fourth quarter since 1975.

The number of births continues to rise in Quebec. During the fourth quarter of 2008, the province had a 3.9% increase in births compared with the same period in the previous year. An increase in the number of births was also noted in some other provinces, particularly in the West, but not on the scale seen in Quebec.

Quarterly demographic estimates


Quarterly demographic estimates October 1, 2008 January 1, 2009 October 1, 2008 to January 1, 2009
number % change
Canada 33,441,277 33,504,680 0.19
Newfoundland and Labrador 508,944 508,990 0.01
Prince Edward Island 140,750 140,402 -0.25
Nova Scotia 939,125 939,531 0.04
New Brunswick 747,790 748,319 0.07
Quebec 7,771,854 7,782,561 0.14
Ontario 12,977,059 12,986,857 0.08
Manitoba 1,210,547 1,213,815 0.27
Saskatchewan 1,020,847 1,023,810 0.29
Alberta 3,610,782 3,632,483 0.60
British Columbia 4,405,534 4,419,974 0.33
Yukon 33,372 33,442 0.21
Nortwest Territories 43,151 42,940 -0.49
Nunavut 31,522 31,556 0.11


Source: Statistics Canada [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090326/t090326a2-eng.htm]

[caltrane74]

Next Quarter : 13,000,000

Nice... or is it, in a bad economy do we really want more people living here?

[Wooster]

It looks like Alberta and BC grew more than Ontario in absolute numbers. They often out-pace Ontario in rate, but that will probably be about the only time in actual numbers. I bet that will change in 2009.

[caltrane74]

We (Ontario) are getting hammered right now.

[wild wild west]

Surprising that the Alberta increase would be so high...the media plays things up as if there is an exodus from Alberta these days...I thought things would be pretty flat here, other than immigration which has been increasing for years. That's good, maybe the sky isn't falling.

[Wooster]

Things weren't so bad in the 4th quarter in 2008 in Alberta as is shaping up in 2009, unfortunately. The layoffs really seemed to have started in the new year. Then again, everywhere is bad, so Alberta still might seem relatively attractive compared to many other places.

[wild wild west]

/\An article yesterday in the Herald mentioned that Calgary's unemployment rate is considered close to full employment - but that's littl econsolation for job-seekers when job creation is non-existent.

[240glt]

Edmonton's rate is about the lowest in the province, but there are a lot of people looking for work.

Unfortunately for those who are looking right now, most of them took a ride on the gravy train for the last few years rather than working on expanding their skills and are noew having difficulty finding work. "Industrial Experience" does not make better employees. In fact, the opposite is true in most circumstances.

[Vaillant]

Quebec grew more than Ontario in absolute numbers that is amazing :D

[someone123]

With demographic growth of 0.07%, New Brunswick dominated the region in the fourth quarter.

Writers need to stop abusing the word "dominated".

[mylesmalley]

Does StatCan ever give an estimate based on CMA?

[Rico Rommheim]

Wow look at new brunswick go!

[mylesmalley]

Wow look at new brunswick go!

The provincial government wants to get the NB population up to 850k by 2026... a bit of a way to go, but at least we're going in the right direction :tup:

And for the record, while the province as a whole is pretty well stagnant, the three cities in the south (Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John) are all growing well above the national average.

[someone123]

It is the same in NS. Cape Breton and some other areas are losing while Central NS is growing.

In the case of Moncton I guess a lot of the new residents are direct migrants from Northern NB.

PEI seems generally fine for a rural area, but it is actually not that remote. Rural Southern NB, parts of Northern NS, the Annapolis Valley, and closer parts of the South Shore are also prosperous as far as rural areas in Canada go.

In general the successful areas of the Maritimes are just as well off as comparable parts of the rest of Canada, and the declining areas are roughly comparable as well. The real difference is in their relative size and population, not their local economic performance.

[Bedford_DJ]

Nova Scotia is coming along nicely. Almost 940'000! :)

If memory serves some communities in Northern NS (Cape Breton mainly) were losing population at over 10% per census for awhile and I don't think thats stopped yet. But Someone123 is correct that its mainly HRM, West Hants, Chester, and Annapolis Valley that are growing the fastest.

I imagine a lot of the PEI shrinkage has to do with people moving to either Moncton or Halifax.

[mylesmalley]

I imagine a lot of the PEI shrinkage has to do with people moving to either Moncton or Halifax.

Maybe it's just cold there :jester:

[Bedford_DJ]

Maybe it's just cold there :jester:

LOL :haha:

Or it could be because they're the snowiest city in Canada somehow (see the weather thread) :jester:

[Nicko999]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6348/scr1238107400.png

I've never seen this! Quebec growing faster than Ontario in pourcentage and in absolute numbers:sly:

[caltrane74]

Think about this: Ontario is getting hit 3 ways.

The banks are failing (although our banks our fine, the financial industry is getting hammered)
The automakers are failing
The real estate market is failing (although we have lots of construction, the prices are not booming like before, and there is excess inventory)

So..... people don't have the motivation to stay here, and immigrants don't want to come here as before. - This is probably a one time thing.. But alas, even with all this bad news, we will still be at 13 million residents by the next estimate, without a doubt.- Ontario is not going to grow by measly 35,000 residents for the entire year, even in a bad economy.

[LeftCoaster]

boohoo.

Everyone is getting hammered. Everyone's biggest industries are tanking, just because you watch Ontario news doesn't mean things aren't just as bad off elsewhere.

[caltrane74]

Less people coming here means, less competition for jobs. - No one in Ontario is crying less people are coming here.

And even in a bad economy we'll still net out to over 100,000 new residents by the end of the year. - Which is good, because at that point most of our core industries will be in recovery mode.

Don't forget, even the most grim population stats have Ontario at 17-18 Million residents by 2030, with 7-8 million of that in the GTA.

[brannelford]

:previous:

Unless Ontario becomes like the rustbelt states along its US Border...

People used to predict great things for Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit too!

It's not a "given" that Ontario's population will continue to grow.

[trueviking]

i guess the death of alberta was greatly exaggerated.

nice news for manitoba and winnipeg...1100 per month is good growth...historically 80% of the provincial population growth is in the winnipeg CMA, so the city should top the 10 000 mark again for 2008....better than a decade ago when winnipeg would grow by a few hundred per year.

thanks to our provincial immigrant sponsorship programme and the fact that fewer people are leaving for alberta....manitobans are also 'doing it' more....

[vid]

Think about this: Ontario is getting hit 3 ways.

The banks are failing (although our banks our fine, the financial industry is getting hammered)
The automakers are failing
The real estate market is failing (although we have lots of construction, the prices are not booming like before, and there is excess inventory)

So..... people don't have the motivation to stay here, and immigrants don't want to come here as before. - This is probably a one time thing.. But alas, even with all this bad news, we will still be at 13 million residents by the next estimate, without a doubt.- Ontario is not going to grow by measly 35,000 residents for the entire year, even in a bad economy.

Four way. In Northwestern Ontario, which grew according to the last census, the Forestry industry is about to become a thing of the past. Abitibi Bowater is just a "no" away from being shut down entirely. Two per cent of our workforce could be unemployed instantly.

[caltrane74]

:previous:

Unless Ontario becomes like the rustbelt states along its US Border...

People used to predict great things for Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit too!

It's not a "given" that Ontario's population will continue to grow.

I'm pretty sure the growth forcast for the Ontario population are not based on a resurgance in manfucturing in the southwest. We are not a one-trick pony economy like Ohio & Michigan, we have a huge financial services, construction, information, communications and technology industry base in this province.

The future population growth in Ontario is likely to be very Toronto/GTA/Goldenhorse centered growth.

[Acajack]

:previous:

Unless Ontario becomes like the rustbelt states along its US Border...

People used to predict great things for Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit too!

It's not a "given" that Ontario's population will continue to grow.

I’ve been wondering for a few days when someone would raise the rust belt analogy.

I’ve always marvelled at how pretty much all of southern Ontario performed so well in the 80s and 90s just as there was a catastrophic decline just across the border.

But now, for at least some significant parts of southern Ontario, I think things are definitely already quite a ways down the rust belt path and will get even worse.

I agree with others here that the GTA will likely be OK, as contrary to the nearby U.S. rust belt areas it has at its heart the largest economic centre in the country and will remain so for the lifetimes of anyone reading this today.

[WhipperSnapper]

I'm more interested if Ontario outside of the GTA was a population loser. (with emphasis on loser as they all tend to honestly hate us ;))

[MolsonExport]

Bear in mind that these statistics are merely estimates.

[Gerrard]

Losing population is hardly a sign of the coming apocalypse. The NE U.S. has been losing population for decades to the south and southwest. It's not only about jobs but includes weather and lifestyle choices as well.

With the slowing of manufacturing Ontario is bound to lose its unskilled workforce to other industries, like oil and forestry etc. I'd be more concerned if it were a brain drain but somehow I doubt it is.

[samne]

Good points Gerrard.

I wouldnt mind seeing a slowdown in population growth for Ontario.

I'd rather progress into a more efficient, knowledge based province. Also, curb the amount of urban sprawl.

[SteelTown]

I suspect Ontario's growing biomedical research could take a hit with President Obama allowing federal funding for stem cell research. It's more difficult to recruit people to Ontario.

[Acajack]

Losing population is hardly a sign of the coming apocalypse. The NE U.S. has been losing population for decades to the south and southwest. It's not only about jobs but includes weather and lifestyle choices as well.

With the slowing of manufacturing Ontario is bound to lose its unskilled workforce to other industries, like oil and forestry etc. I'd be more concerned if it were a brain drain but somehow I doubt it is.

Yeah, I don’t see it as a brain drain either. More of a blue-collar/working class drain.

[WhipperSnapper]

I suspect Ontario's growing biomedical research could take a hit with President Obama allowing federal funding for stem cell research. It's more difficult to recruit people to Ontario.


Toronto has managed to position itself among the leaders so I'm not too worried here. Can't sit back though.

[SteelTown]

I'm sure we'll do fine but it'll definitely make it more difficult. During Bush presidency it was high time for stem cell research in Ontario and recruiting was easy peasy. But since the New Year we've (I work at a stem cell research centre) noticed people are looking harder at California.

[Wooster]

Toronto has managed to position itself among the leaders so I'm not too worried here. Can't sit back though.

The problem unfortunately for Toronto is that being in a province that's finances are struggling, it's limiting the city's capacity to keep up with badly needed infrastructure like new transit lines. As Metrolinx likes to point out, the GTA has to make up for the last 25 years of inaction, plus build the transit required for the next 25 years at the same time. I'm not sure where it will find the money to complete its ambitious plans. The Province is going into huge deficit and spending a lot of infrastructure, but much of it is to prop up struggling industries.

Being someone who takes an increasingly stressed, crowded and delayed TTC system everyday, I think that Toronto needs every penny it can get.

[craner]

HEY! Saskatchewan is over 1 000 000 again - yesss!:tup:

[Nicko999]

HEY! Saskatchewan is over 1 000 000 again - yesss!:tup:

It's over the million mark since last year

[wild wild west]

:previous:

Unless Ontario becomes like the rustbelt states along its US Border...

People used to predict great things for Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit too!

It's not a "given" that Ontario's population will continue to grow.

Yes, but those cities were extremely reliant on heavy industry. Toronto's economy in particular is quite diverse so I see its metropolitan economy evolving more similar to Chicago, New York, Philadelphia - still growing even while it sheds industrial jobs. Ottawa, too, has a stable economy thanks to the feds and high tech/research going on there. The real challenge will be in how some of the centres more reliant on industry come out - Windsor, Hamilton, St. Catherines...although in the case of Hamilton they're close enough to the GTA to perhaps get a bit of a "bounce" when Toronto starts to recover.

[SteelTown]

Pretty much all the job growth happening in Hamilton is research/medical related jobs with Innovation Park, Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute, new Henderson Hospital, CANMET-MTL lab which is all currently under construction. There's a good chance Hamilton could also nail down a deal to build a new mega Canadian Blood Services lab centre.

[vid]

Northern Ontario as a whole has been losing population for years, but Northwestern Ontario, Kenora district specifically, have seen very large population gains. While Thunder Bay and Rainy River districts both saw fairly large population declines, the gains in Kenora were enough to more than make up for those loses. Like the growth in the city of Thunder Bay, the growth in Northwestern Ontario is almost entirely in the aboriginal community.

Thunder Bay's CMA population increased by 0.8% between 2001 and 2006. The population of non-aboriginals decreased by 1%, but that was off set by an increase of 23% in the aboriginal population, which is fairly representative of the region as a whole. They went from 8,200 to 10,055 in the CMA. They could easily pass 12,500 by the next census, and make up approximately 10-11% of the population. In Kenora District, more than 33% of the population is aboriginal. (About 1.5% of residents in Kenora District speak neither official language.)

The part of Ontario that Ontario doesn't know it has..

[WhipperSnapper]

The problem unfortunately for Toronto is that being in a province that's finances are struggling, it's limiting the city's capacity to keep up with badly needed infrastructure like new transit lines. As Metrolinx likes to point out, the GTA has to make up for the last 25 years of inaction, plus build the transit required for the next 25 years at the same time. I'm not sure where it will find the money to complete its ambitious plans. The Province is going into huge deficit and spending a lot of infrastructure, but much of it is to prop up struggling industries.



Not sure how that relates to the biomedical sector. Most of the investment is from the private sector. It wouldn't surprise me either if California has contributed more public dollars than Ontario.

As Metrolinx likes to point out, the GTA has to make up for the last 25 years of inaction, plus build the transit required for the next 25 years at the same time.

"likes" is probably an understatement

[caltrane74]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3392795616_f52453d29b_o.jpg

old but interesting info...

Population Forecast and Growth Rate
With a population of 5.3 million in 2003, the GTA is Canada’s largest metropolitan area and accounts for 43.2% of Ontario’s population. By 2031 the total population of Toronto region is expected to reach 7.4 million. The City of Toronto has the largest population concentration with 47.4 percent of the total population of the Greater Toronto Area.

[WhipperSnapper]

^What's with the huge explosion in Durham Region in a decades time? The airport? Available land? Their crappy financial situation?

[caltrane74]

Durham is the only place left in the GTA with land....

Peel is built out
York has the moraine
That leaves Durham region

Those population estimates are wrong anyways...cause York is already over a million. They don't got to wait 2 more years for that....

[vid]

I was pretty sure York was over a million by now. I can see it getting more dense in the future. Durham and Halton is where all the low density suburbs will go. You can see Halton grew by as much as Durham--almost doubling its population. By 2031, Milton will probably be at least as large as Brampton was 10 years ago.

[bob1954]

I hope Canada's population estimates are low. I feel at 40 million by 2021 growth would'nt be to fast to be absorbed, providing the economy grows faster than I think it will!

[waterloowarrior]

http://wwuploads.googlepages.com/placestogrow_pop.jpg

from the growth plan for the greater golden horseshoe (places to grow)

[caltrane74]

Greater Golden Horseshoe 11.5 Million.............that's crazy!!!!!!!

OMG!!

GTA - 8 Million!!! wow......... and hamiltion another 660,000 interesting...

8.6 Million in total for GTA + Hamilton

some interesting points on that chart....

Barrie swallows up Simcoe County into it's popoulation and goes to 600,000
Orillia gets swallowed up into Dufferin
Peterborough County gets swallowed up in Peterboroughs population.
Waterloo Region on it's own -excluding guelph - 729,000!!! - Impressive !! - Wow!!
I don't know if these growth rates are sustainable in the current economic climate, but in the near term the are estimates low, because we will far surpass the 2011 projects, as York's population has shown, 2 years earlier in most cases.

I hope Canada's population estimates are low. I feel at 40 million by 2021 growth would'nt be to fast to be absorbed, providing the economy grows faster than I think it will!

6 million in 10 years.. I don't think we can do it....


I was pretty sure York was over a million by now. I can see it getting more dense in the future. Durham and Halton is where all the low density suburbs will go. You can see Halton grew by as much as Durham--almost doubling its population. By 2031, Milton will probably be at least as large as Brampton was 10 years ago.

I think we're on the same mindset here!!

[ssiguy]

Some of those estimates I think are way off base. I think the city of Toronto will grow faster while Halimond/Niagara/Hamilton slower. One has to remember that these numbers are just estimates and it takes little to throw them off base. Toronto's falling house prices could result in fewer moving to the suburbs and more to the city as people realize that they can a nice place to live that they can afford without the long commutes.
Windsor just 3 years ago was expected to grow faster than London and as fast as the provincial average. Has that ever changed as the Windsor CMA has been declining in population for the last 2 years due to its tanking economy.

[ssiguy]

We also have to remeber that immigration is Ottawa's decision so much of it has nothing to do with what is best for the country or economy but pure politics.
Also it's amazing how fast things can change. Which provinces in the last 2 months had the fastest rise in their unemployment rates?..........Ontario you might think or maybe Quebec. Wrong. It was Alberta and BC.

[caltrane74]

Yeah, the growth rates for the Niagara Region are grim. - You would think with the wineries, tourism, and gambling they would do better. But their manufacturing base has been destroyed, and there is no coming back. In fact I'm surprised they are even still forcasted to have some positive population growth.

[Spocket]

Am I reading that right ? Barrie is expected to have 667,000 people in 22 years ? That just doesn't seem likely. High growth yes , I can certainly see that but half a million people ? That just doesn't ring true especially when considering the trend is now upwards instead of outwards.

Edit : Okay , I can figure out that I'm not reading it right but in that case , what do those numbers represent exactly ?

[caltrane74]

What is happening is that Barrie is absorbing the existing population in Simcoe County. I guess there comes a point in which Barrie's growth merges it with the other communities in the surrounding area amalgamating the population.

Currently the Simcoe county population outside of Barrie is 294,000 - Combined with Barrie current population = 450,000. At some point in the future the two populations merge into one and become 558,000 12 years out, then 667,000 22 years from now.

The same thing happens to Guelph and Wellington county

The same thing happens to Peterborough and Peterbough County and the Kawarthas

[waterloowarrior]

Am I reading that right ? Barrie is expected to have 667,000 people in 22 years ? That just doesn't seem likely. High growth yes , I can certainly see that but half a million people ? That just doesn't ring true especially when considering the trend is now upwards instead of outwards.

Edit : Okay , I can figure out that I'm not reading it right but in that case , what do those numbers represent exactly ?

The consulants chose to combine the long-term estimates of small single-tier cities with their surrounding regional governments for now.... The individual long-term forecasts of the municipalities with '*' like Barrie, are TBD.

The thing they all have in common is that they are single tier cities surrounded by a regional municipality, but they aren't actually part of that municipality. The opposite is true for places like Waterloo Region, where Kitchener and Waterloo are lower-tier municipalities and are part of the regional government.

Unfortunately this has lead to huge conflicts in Simcoe as Barrie and Simcoe County debate over how much share each place should get.

some articles available here
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=4331

[isaidso]

Less people coming here means, less competition for jobs. - No one in Ontario is crying less people are coming here.


That logic may seem sound, but it's not even close to being true. There are a ton of jobs that go unfilled because we don't produce enough people with the right skills. We need to import them to keep certain industries going. Immigration also boosts the human capital of this province. Equating more immigration to less competition is simplistic and crude.

No one is crying in Ontario over lower immigration? Perhaps people who don't study economics think it's great, but those that do know how vital it is to this province's future. Ontario is in big trouble if people stop wanting to come here.

Ontario industry deserves the best talent it can secure. If that means getting it from beyond Canada, all the better. We're facing a demographic time bomb in this country. Did every one sleep in that day of class?

[caltrane74]

That logic may seem sound, but it's not even close to being true. There are a ton of jobs that go unfilled because we don't produce enough people with the right skills. We need to import them to keep certain industries going. Immigration also boosts the human capital of this province. Equating more immigration to less competition is simplistic and crude.

No one is crying in Ontario over lower immigration? Perhaps people who don't study economics think it's great, but those that do know how vital it is to this province's future. Ontario is in big trouble if people stop wanting to come here.

Ontario industry deserves the best talent it can secure. If that means getting it from beyond Canada, all the better. We're facing a demographic time bomb in this country. Did every one sleep in that day of class?

I was looking at one quarter of population statistics in the middle of an economic downtown. The reason the numbers are down is because people far more studied in these matters than you or I have determined that in these conditions, you have to bring down the number of people in the country while the economy in the country adapts to its changing enviroment. - Hence the very slow growth in population in Ontario. If this had been a business as usual quarter population count, that stats would have shown Ontario's population growing by around 40,000 people. - But like I stated, in this economic enviroment, the government has to look at the big picture.

BTW: Ontario did bring in 23,000 immigrants in the last quarter, and we lost 6500 to interprovincial migration..(It was in the first post of this thread, I think you missed it)

Also..

did you not notice..I posted a mirade of statistics showing how Ontario's population will reach 18 million in the next 25 years...My point being yes we're down now, but in the long term we'll continue to be in absolute terms the leader in Canadain population growth.

...


Did you not see any of that or do you just pick and choose pieces of my posts to respond to? -

Next time why don't you quote my full post:


Less people coming here means, less competition for jobs. - No one in Ontario is crying less people are coming here.

And even in a bad economy we'll still net out to over 100,000 new residents by the end of the year. - Which is good, because at that point most of our core industries will be in recovery mode.

Don't forget, even the most grim population stats have Ontario at 17-18 Million residents by 2030, with 7-8 million of that in the GTA.

[Canadian Mind]

That logic may seem sound, but it's not even close to being true. There are a ton of jobs that go unfilled because we don't produce enough people with the right skills. We need to import them to keep certain industries going. Immigration also boosts the human capital of this province. Equating more immigration to less competition is simplistic and crude.

No one is crying in Ontario over lower immigration? Perhaps people who don't study economics think it's great, but those that do know how vital it is to this province's future. Ontario is in big trouble if people stop wanting to come here.

Ontario industry deserves the best talent it can secure. If that means getting it from beyond Canada, all the better. We're facing a demographic time bomb in this country. Did every one sleep in that day of class?

Demographically we are still better off than most western nations in Europe and especially Japan over on the far side fo the pacific. besides, no reason why Imigration can't be retolled to make it easier for the youth to immigrate, which would offset the natural aging of the population.

And mandetory retirement age should be increased by one year every two years for the next 20 years, so that the mandatory retirement age is now 75. This would greatley increase our potential workforce and most importantly the most experiances (albiet senile) portion of the workforce. It also allows us to offset the whole EI and Pension problems we are going to face. Woking for 40 years between 25 and 65 used to cover the pensions of the 65-75 age group, now as people live longer that same age range that needs to be supported has increased from 75 to 85 or even 95 now, plus more people in general in that age range. So the same amount of work in the younger years will no longer cover the amount of time spent in the retirement years.

And this is coming from a guy who is 19 and has to "compete" with these guys for jobs. personally I would look forward to having an extra 10 years to establish a solid career and make money. means a better lifestyle in retirement for myself, and a better lifestyle for my (cross fingers) future children.

[Smevo]

Nova Scotia is coming along nicely. Almost 940'000! :)

If memory serves some communities in Northern NS (Cape Breton mainly) were losing population at over 10% per census for awhile and I don't think thats stopped yet. But Someone123 is correct that its mainly HRM, West Hants, Chester, and Annapolis Valley that are growing the fastest.

I imagine a lot of the PEI shrinkage has to do with people moving to either Moncton or Halifax.

Just a little correction because it's far too often exaggerated...
CA.................1991-1996........1996-2001............2001-2006
Cape Breton.......-1.9%.............-7.2%..................-3.1%
New Glasgow......-1.6%.............-3.5%..................-1.2%

And to get the full area
CD.................1996-2001..........2001-2006
Cape Breton.......-7.2%................-3.1%
Pictou...............-3.6%................-1.0%
Inverness..........-4.7%................-4.5%
Antigonish.........+0.1%................-3.8%
Richmond..........-7.2%................-4.7%
Guysborough......-10.0%..............-7.8%
Victoria.............-6.1%................-4.6%


Region................................1996-2001.............2001-2006
Cape Breton Island...................-6.8%..................-3.5%
Northern NS (mainland).............-3.6%..................-2.6%
Region as a whole....................-5.7%..................-3.2%

Not great, but not the "averaging 10%" mentioned. BTW, I know Bedford_DJ didn't exaggerate on purpose, I've just seen it exaggerated too much and I'm the only forumer from the area that checks this section.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the closing of the steel mill and mines are mistakenly seen as not having an effect on the 2006 census. The reality is that Sydney Steel was operating until after shortly after it was announced sold in July 2001. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Steel_Corporation) Also the last coal mine was closed on Nov 23, 2001. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEVCO) The census is taken in May and the fallout from these would have continued under a best case scenario for the next year. It was a blessing in disguise since the dependence on these industries was slowly killing the area, and we've started to bounce back though the effects of the current recession is beginning to drag us down again.

[WhipperSnapper]

Peel is built out

Mississauga is approaching built out however, Brampton has plenty of room and Caledon is virtually untouched (green belt notwithstanding)

[vid]

Caledon seems to be more of a rural McMansion playground though, there will probably be some suburban development but a lot will be left as larger estate properties. It will be Halton and Duram that see the real suburb growth like Brampton has. And over the longer term, you will see more growth in Halton and Durham because they still have more room to grow than Peel, even with Caledon.

[samne]

Caledon seems to be more of a rural McMansion playground though, there will probably be some suburban development but a lot will be left as larger estate properties. It will be Halton and Duram that see the real suburb growth like Brampton has. And over the longer term, you will see more growth in Halton and Durham because they still have more room to grow than Peel, even with Caledon.

McMansions were already slowing down in the outer regions. Conditions wont improve with the PST now added on new homes over $400K.