A methodological note on the population clock

The counts appearing on the population clock might differ from estimates and projections released by Statistics Canada. The population clock is strictly a pedagogic tool and the displayed counts should be used as a rough indication of the current population levels.

The clock counts evolve based on rates calculated using demographic estimates for the year ending on June 30, 2011. These rates were applied to the preliminary postcensal population estimates as of July 1, 2011 and kept constant.

As the July 1^st estimates are being released in the last week of September, the population clock is usually updated, once a year, during the week following the release of the estimates.

Population estimates and projections used to calculate the counts of the population clock are produced using the 2006 Census counts adjusted to take into account its coverage errors (census net undercoverage) and the components of demographic growth method. This method consists in taking the population figures from the most recent adjusted census and adding or subtracting the number of births, deaths, interprovincial and international in-migrants and out-migrants estimated since that last census.