(File photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

2021 Census

City and town see decrease; lake residents increase

Feb 15, 2022 | 5:08 PM

North Battleford and Battleford both saw a decline in numbers in the 2021 Canadian census results.

The city lost 3.3 per cent of its residents in the 2021 population count compared to 2016, while the town’s numbers went down by a small fraction at 0.7 per cent.

The City of North Battleford said in a statement that it is committed to supporting the region and working with area municipalities and First Nations “to make our regional community a more attractive and desirable place to live and do business.”

Battlefords Chamber of Commerce chief operating officer Linda Machniak said the Battlefords community needs to look at ways to keep the area growing.

“Obviously if the numbers are down, we have some work to do to attract people to our community, and to ensure that the employers have the people that they need to run and operate their businesses,” she said.

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For North Battleford, the results from Statistics Canada show the population declined to 13,836 in 2021 from 14,315 in 2016.

In comparison, Battleford saw a small decrease at 4,400 in 2021 from 4,429 in 2016.

Machniak said a change in the population can affect the community on many levels.

“There is no doubt that census numbers going down impact business and the entire community, from government funding to numbers of employees to any number of things,” she said.

As a positive sign, the area lake district is seeing growth in the census numbers.

The Rural Municipality of Meota population increased by 19 per cent to 1,110 in 2021 from 933 in 2016.

The Resort Village of Cochin increased by 48 per cent to 219 in 2021 from 148 in 2016.

And the Village of Meota went up by 6.9 per cent to 325 in 2021 from 304 in 2016.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow