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Golden and CSRD Area A see growth in 2021 census

Growth in rural areas went up across Canada
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Golden’s population grew between 2016 and 2021 by 278 people. (Claire Palmer photo)

Golden’s population grew by 278 between 2016 and 2021, according to the newly released census, putting the population at at 3,986. That equates to growth of 7.5 per cent.

It creeps Golden closer to the 5,000 population cut off for being designated a city in B.C., which is outlined by the Local Government Act.

The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) Area A also saw growth, adding 177 residents between 2016 and 2021, for a growth of 5.6 per cent.

The census also revealed there were 1,892 private dwellings in town, but only 1,734 are occupied by usual residents.

That disparity grows in Area A, where there’s a reported 2,124 private dwellings, 1,493 are occupied by usual users.

When compared with other countries in the G7, Canada’s rural population grew the fastest with a growth of 0.4 per cent from 2016 to 2021. Canada and Germany were the only G7 countries with positive rural population growth, according to Stats Canada.

However, that growth rate was far below that of Canada’s urban centres, which grew at a rate of 6.3 per cent.

The population of British Columbia has grown by 7.6 per cent since 2016, figures released by Statistics Canada for the 2021 Census show.

According to the agency, the province’s population has increased to 5,000,879 people, up from 4,648,055 in 2016.

Canada’s overall population grew 5.2 per cent to 36,991,981. B.C.’s population growth was beaten only the Yukon, which grew by 12.1 per cent, and Prince Edward Island, which grew by eight per cent. B.C. remains the third largest province in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, the country remains the fastest growing in the G7, at nearly twice the rate of the organization.

The main driver of population growth, the agency noted, was immigration, not fertility. Immigrants account for around 80 per cent of new people in Canada between 2016 and 2021.

The federal government is doling out the findings of the 2021 census throughout 2022. Population data was released Wednesday, Feb. 9. On April 27, demographic data will be released. On July 13, information on family households, military experience and Canadians’ income will be shared.

Language statistics will be shared Aug. 17; First Nations, Métis and Inuit statistics will be shared Sept. 21; immigration, religion and migration data will be released Oct. 26; and education and labour data will be released Nov. 30.

–with files from Katya Slepian



Claire Palmer

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