The 2011 Canada Census conducted by Statistics Canada showed St. Paul has a population of 5,400, less than the Town’s 2010 census of 5,632, Town council heard at its meeting on Feb. 13.
Municipal Affairs will use the Town’s number this year, but if the Town does not complete another census, it would revert to the federal statistic, said CAO Ron Boisvert. The census affects grants, he added.
Council decided to conduct another census this year. The 2010 census cost the Town around $3,000.
The cost of the Town conducting its own census is well worth the value gained from grants, Mayor Glenn Andersen said, after the meeting.
“I don’t know how they can be so different,” said Andersen, adding other towns he met with at the Northern Mayors and Reeves conference recently said their federal census numbers are also lower than their own.
“It makes a huge impact on everybody’s municipality because all the grants are done by per capita basis. We’re talking about quite a bit of money. ”
The Town’s population density is 685 persons per square kilometre. The federal census showed growth of 5.8 per cent from 2006, when the population was 5,106.
Statistics Canada recorded a 1.6 per cent decrease in the population of the County of St. Paul, with 5,831 recorded in the 2011 census. The population density is 1.8 persons per square kilometre. In the 2006 census, the County recorded a population of 5,925.
County of St. Paul council decided to conduct its own census this year at its meeting on Feb. 14. The County conducted its last census in 2005 at a cost of $13,000. The cost of conducting a census today is between $15,000 to $20,000. The reduced numbers on the federal census could mean the County losing $13,000 in Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding in 2013, according to County administration.
As it has been seven years since the County has done its own census, council felt it is time to do its own to see how it compares because the population affects grants, said Assistant CAO Tim Mahdiuk, after the meeting.
Elk Point showed a decrease of five per cent with 1,412 residents in the 2011 census. The MD of Bonnyville grew by nearly 10 per cent to 11,191 from the 2006 census, with the same population density as the County of St. Paul at 1.8 people/km. Two Hills County also grew by 8.3 per cent for 3,160 and a density of 1.2 people/km.
Smoky Lake County grew by 16.5 per cent, according to the 2011 census, with 3,910 residents and a density of 1.1 people/km.
