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Population remains stable

Slight increases balance decreases in some rural areas

Powell River’s population grew slightly since the last census, according to the first batch of 2011 census figures released by Statistics Canada.

Population growth in Powell River Regional District was 1.6 per cent, rising from 19,599 people in 2006 to 19,906 recorded in the 2011 census. The City of Powell River also had a 1.6 per cent increase, from 12,957 in 2006 to 13,165 in 2011.

Mayor Dave Formosa said he was encouraged and delighted with the population growth. He pointed out that at its peak, the Powell River pulp and paper mill employed 2,700 people. Currently, the mill employs about 400 people. “Major jobs are leaving and there is no real industrial growth coming into the region,” he said. “Yet our population stays basically level.”

There hasn’t been a corresponding drop in population that coincides with the reduced number of major industry jobs, Formosa explained. “I have always said once we bottomed out, and we have, you will start to see the population climb. It is happening just as I always thought it would.”

In the rural areas of the regional district, Lasqueti Island had the largest increase at 18.7 per cent, going from 359 in 2006 to 426 in 2011. The next highest increase was in Area A, north of Powell River, which had a 10.3 per cent increase, from 914 in 2006 to 1,008 in 2011.

Texada Island experienced the largest decrease at 4.9 per cent, with the population falling from 1,107 in 2006 to 1,053 in 2011.

Rural areas south of Powell River also had decreases. Area C had a 2.9 per cent decline, falling from 2,074 in 2006 to 2,014 in 2011. Area B fell just 0.1 per cent, or one person, going from 1,489 in 2006 to 1,488 in 2011.

Colin Palmer, regional board chair and Electoral Area C director, said the census figures weren’t a surprise except for Area A. “I don’t think the change in Area A is dramatic, but we might want to say, what’s happening up there and why,” he said.

He has no idea if the people leaving Areas B and C are moving into the city, Palmer added. “I have no idea if it’s completely new people moving in,” he said. “It’s a fairly good sign. This is not downtown Langley, so we have to get everything in proportion.”

Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation had a seven per cent increase, rising from 682 in 2006 to 730 in 2011. The Sechelt Indian Government District, which has land it leases south of Powell River, increased by 29.4 per cent, rising from 17 in 2006 to 22 in 2011.

Slightly more people live in the rural areas of the regional district, according to the latest figures. In 2006, 5,943 people lived outside of the city’s boundaries, or 30.32 per cent of the total regional district population. In 2011, there were 5,989 people living in rural areas, or 30.08 per cent of the total population.

Scott Randolph, Powell River Regional Economic Development Society manager, said the latest census figures are promising. “There are some increases in the area,” he said. “Texada is a little disappointing. We knew that we were going to see a drop there, but it’s not as bad as we thought.”

Some people on the island thought the population would drop below 1,000, Randolph said. “But even still, that’s a significant hit to that community.”

Randolph has been working with Texada residents to develop an economic development action plan, a process that involved representatives from a variety of sectors, as well as open houses on the island. The plan is available on PRREDS’ website. Randolph said there is a meeting scheduled next week with the steering committee to talk about implementation. “It’s about how do we go forward from here and what can we do that’s immediate?” he said.

Canada’s population of 33.5 million, an increase of 5.9 per cent from the previous census in 2006, is the fastest growing of any G8 nation. Census data also points to a westward shift, with more people living west of Ontario than in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.

British Columbia’s share of Canada’s population reached a new high of 13.1 per cent and the total number of residents rose by seven per cent to 4.4 million.