Winnipeg metropolitan population growth slows during pandemic: Statistics Canada
New numbers from Statistics Canada show Winnipeg's population growth has slowed since the pandemic started, but one expert says this trend isn't specific to the city.
For 2021, Winnipeg's census metropolitan area population was 852,778, which is just up slightly from 851,211 in 2020.
This amounts to just 1,567 more people living in the area from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021.
Lori Wilkinson, who is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Manitoba, said several major cities including Winnipeg have been struggling with population growth during the pandemic and even before COVID-19 hit.
"There's actually four components to population growth. There's births, there's deaths, migration into the country and migration out of the country," said Wilkinson.
"As a nation we're getting older and we're having less babies."
Wilkinson said in 2019, Canada had the lowest growth rate on record.
"So if we look at Winnipeg in particular, its age structure, we are a little bit older than other metropolitan areas. So our average age is 38.6 years."
Wilkinson highlights that while growth has slowed in the Winnipeg area, even before the pandemic, with just over 35,000 people since 2017, it has been growing at a steady pace over the past 20 years.
"Our growth rate between 2001 and 2021 is 23 per cent, which is a little bit behind some of the other centres, but not all of them,' she said.
Wilkinson said Winnipeg was behind Toronto with a growth rate of 34 per cent, while places like Montreal and Hamilton had growth rates of 20 per cent and 17.9 per cent respectively in that same timeframe.
Tyler Markowsky, a city economist, said while growth has dipped recently he doesn't expect that to continue.
"We continue to monitor population trends, national and local, and will advise Council on how we anticipate these trends will impact growth in Winnipeg," Markowsky said in a written statement to CTV News.
"While it's too early to predict when it might occur, we do expect that population growth trends in Winnipeg will return to pre-pandemic levels."
Wilkinson said if the city wants to try and build growth at a pre-pandemic level again, it needs to highlight the positives of Winnipeg.
"I've lived in many cities in Canada and I think Winnipeg is the most underrated city ever…I don't think we take enough pride in advertising that. I think Winnipeg is Canada's best kept secret. And maybe as a province and as a municipality we need to celebrate our accomplishments and what you can do here in a much more open fashion than we have."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Potentially toxic chemicals hide in our drinking water and countless household objects, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
'It was violent': Police tear down U of A pro-Palestinian encampment Saturday morning
Multiple people at the protest camp torn down at the University of Alberta campus Saturday say police's actions against protesters were "violent" and "disproportionate."
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
Election deniers: West Virginia voters must pick from GOP candidates who still dispute 2020 election
When West Virginia Republicans vote in Tuesday's primary, they will have a hard time finding a major candidate on the ballot in any statewide race who openly acknowledges that U.S. President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Man ticketed after allegedly trespassing again at Drake's Bridle Path mansion to get his bike
A man who tried to access Drake’s Bridle Path mansion earlier this week returned to the property Saturday and was apprehended again for allegedly trespassing, Toronto police say.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.