Census 2006 and Athabasca

The basic population growth numbers for Canada were released this week. The trend for Athabasca is looking up, and looking good. The County is holding steady. And, growth in year round residents at Island Lake and around Baptist Lake has been enormous.

Growth around the lakes raises two issues: concerns about ecological sustainability of the lakes and overbuilding; and the need for tax support for the Town whose residents pay for all the human services for those 'Summer' Village residents. More about that later.

2006 Census Athabasca
The 2006 Census shows the Town of Athabasca grew by 6.6 percent and Athabasca County at a low 0.9 percent growth. Canada's population growth rate was 5.4 and the AB Province 10.6 percent.
Clik


That 2006 Census rate of growth for the Town has doubled from the 2001 Census which showed the Town of Athabasca grew 4.4 percent between 1995 and 2001, and the County at 0.9, the same rate as the 2006 census. The national average in 2001 was 4 percent and AB grew at 10 percent.
Clik


In the new 2006 Census there are some interesting patterns across Rural Canada. According to Statistics Canada - " Canada's population in small towns and rural areas grew by 1.0% between 2001 and 2006, after declining by 0.4% in the previous intercensal period. In 2006, just under 20% of Canadians (6.0 million people) were living in rural areas, that is, in areas located outside urban centres with a population of at least 10,000. (So for a small Town, Athabasca is growing 6 times the national average - MG).

Rural growth often depends on proximity to large urban centres. There are two types of rural areas: those close to urban centres, and those which are more remote. In rural areas close to urban centres, more than 30% of the labour force commutes to work in the urban centre. In these rural areas, population growth between 2001 and 2006 (+4.7%)was close to the national average (+5.4%). Population growth in such
locations is often associated with the presence of small towns that are easily accessible by highway from an urban centre.

In remote rural areas located farther from urban centres, the population remained nearly the same as in 2001 (-0.1%). These areas for example also lost population in the previous intercensal period. The lack of growth in such areas is often due to the fact that young adults move to metropolitan areas to pursue their education or find a job."
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In 2006 Athabasca is one of the few small Towns bucking the rural trend of low or no growth north of Edmonton, and doing it nicely. Most of our neighbours (some much closer to Ecity) are losing people, not gaining as we have. It is worth noting how population declined in Smoky Lake - 0.1 and Lac La Biche -0.6; the low growth in Barrhead (0.1); Boyle (1.0); High Prairie (.5) and Slave Lake (1.6), and the modest growth in Westlock 3.9 percent (or 189 new people compared to Athabasca's growth of 160 people, which begs the question of why there is considerable re-investment by the province in health care in Westlock and Westlock County (0.7) which are growing more slowly and located closer to hospitals and specialists in St Albert)... Hmmm.

The big growth in the region was at the lakes west of Town in the Summer Villages -

Island Lake grew 76.4 percent from 199 to 351 residents (or up 152);
Island Lake South SV grew 47.6 percent from 71 to 105 residents (up 34);
South Baptiste grew from 44 to 69 residents or 56.8 percent (up 25);
Sunset Beach grew from 50 to 88 or 76 percent, (up 38).
West Baptiste grew from 46 to 104, (up 58);

That's a whopping 307 more residents (or almost twice the raw increase in the Town of Athabasca. Hmmm

Neither the town (nor County) receive any significant tax support from these villages (where taxes are very low compared to property values - BTW), yet the Town provides commercial services, schools, elder care, health services, recreation facilities, churches, doctors, dentists, etc, etc., to their residents. Keep in mind that we DO have over 20 cost sharing agreements with the County whose residents use the same Town services. Hmmm

Other Comparisions
When you look at towns about our size outside Edmonton
their growth was weaker. Both Gibbons -.5 and Redwater 0.9 are about our size or a bit larger. So Athabasca is doing real well.

If I had to venture a guess, I would argue that the investment the Town Council has made over the last few years...in all areas...has really helped, as has the job security and recent boom growth at Athabasca University, and the steady work at the pulp mill. But don't forget the efforts on the Riverfront and with Communities in Bloom to make the Town look good and feel so well looked after. Our Town.

It will be interesting, later in the year, when Statistics Canada releases
the age, education, workforce and income information, to review our other local patterns, so we can plan for the future.

A good news story for Athabasca. Now if we can just become more sustainable, low fossil fuel dependent, and begin to adopt green thinking like they are doing in Sweden, Clik Herewe might have something to pass on to future generations.
Mike