Released on February 8, 2017
The 2016 Census population count released today by Statistics Canada shows that Saskatchewan grew by 64,971 people in the past five years since the 2011 Census.Over the past decade, from the 2006 to the 2016 Census, Saskatchewan grew by more than 130,000 people. That’s a complete turnaround from the previous decade – 1996 to 2006 – when Saskatchewan’s population actually dropped by 22,000 people.
Saskatchewan had the second-highest growth rate among the provinces at 6.3 per cent. Saskatoon was third among Census Metropolitan Areas at 12.5 per cent. Regina was fourth at 11.8 per cent.
“The new census numbers show how far Saskatchewan has come in the past decade compared to the decade before that, when we were still losing people and some said it would be impossible for Saskatchewan to grow by even 100,000 people in 10 years,” Premier Brad Wall said. “Obviously, given the current fiscal situation, a growing population presents some challenges for our province, but I would much rather be facing the challenges of growth than the challenges of decline.”
According to the 2016 Census count, there were 1,098,352 people living in Saskatchewan in May of 2016. That number is lower than Statistics Canada’s quarterly population estimates because a few thousand people are typically missed by the Census enumeration. The quarterly population estimates will be adjusted to account for this “undercount” in 2018. In the 2011 Census, the undercount was about 33,000 people.
All 16 Saskatchewan cities saw their populations increase from 2011 to 2016, by a total of 59,189 people or 9.9 per cent.
Saskatchewan towns saw their populations increase by 3,939 people or 2.7 per cent while Saskatchewan villages saw their populations increase slightly by 228 people or 0.5 per cent. Rural municipalities saw their total populations increase by 1,934 people or 1.1 per cent.
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For more information, contact:
Lisa Danyluk
Executive Council
Regina
Phone: 306-787-9619
Email: lisa.danyluk@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-531-4383