Section 2: Economic regions
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
The economic regions (ERs) with the highest growth ratesin the past year
Between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011, 26 of the 76 economic regions (ERs) experienced demographic growth higher than that of Canada as a whole (10.4 per thousand). Among the 10 fastest growing ERs, many were located in the western part of the country. Once again this year, this situation confirms the vitality of Western Canada's economic regions.
The four fastest growing ERs during the 2010–2011 period were located in the western part of the country. The ER of Wood Buffalo–Cold Lake (Fort McMurray) in Alberta was in first place with a growth rate of 36.0 per thousand, followed by the Saskatoon–Biggar ER in Saskatchewan (21.8 per thousand), the Southeast ER in Manitoba (18.8 per thousand) and the Calgary ER in Alberta (18.7 per thousand).
Only one Alberta ER was on the list of the 10 fastest growing regions in 2009–2010, but three were on the list for 2010–2011. In addition to the Wood Buffalo–Cold Lake and Calgary ERs, the Edmonton ER ranked seventh (16.8 per thousand).
The only ER in the Atlantic provinces to make the list was Prince Edward Island, which ranked fifth, with a growth rate of 17.0 per thousand.
Saskatchewan's Regina–Moose Mountain ER (16.9 per thousand), Manitoba's Northern ER (16.8 per thousand), Ontario's Toronto ER (16.6 per thousand) and Quebec's Laval ER (15.3 per thousand) round out the list of fastest growing ERs in Canada.
The economic regions with the highest rates of decline inthe past year
During 2010–2011, 16 of the 76 economic regions saw declines in their population. Mostly located in the eastern part of the country, almost all of these ERs had a net loss in subprovincial and interprovincial migration exchanges. In addition, they often experienced more deaths than births.
Eight of the 10 ERs with the highest rates of decline were in the Atlantic provinces. The three ERs with the strongest declines between July 1, 2010, and July 1, 2011, were in Newfoundland and Labrador. The strongest decline in population was recorded in South Coast–Burin Peninsula (-15.3 per thousand), followed by Notre Dame–Central Bonavista Bay (-11.0 per thousand) and West Coast–Northern Peninsula–Labrador (-9.5 per thousand). A similar observation can be made in Nova Scotia, where three ERs saw their populations shrink during the same period. The Southern ER (-9.1 per thousand), Cape Breton ER (-7.3 per thousand) and North Shore ER (-6.1 per thousand) ranked fourth, seventh and eighth on the list, respectively. Two New Brunswick ERs made the list: Edmundston–Woodstock (-8.4 per thousand) and Campbellton–Miramichi (-8.0 per thousand), ranking fifth and sixth, respectively.
The two other ERs making the list were the Parklands ER in Manitoba (-5.4 per thousand) and the Northeast ER in Ontario (-3.9 per thousand).
Main sources of growth
In one-third of the ERs in Canada (25 out of 76), natural increase was the primary source of growth. International migration was the main reason for population increases in just over one-quarter of the ERs (21 out of 76), and interprovincial and subprovincial migration were the driving forces behind demographic growth in 14 ERs (18.4%). Although growth in a number of ERs can be attributed primarily to natural increase, those ERs account for only 21.8% of the Canadian population. Almost half of Canada's population (48.2%) resides in the ERs where growth was led mainly by international migration.
International migration: main source of growth in several ERs encompassing major Canadian cities
Many of the ERs in which international migration plays a key role in growth include a census metropolitan area (CMA). For example, the cities of Montréal, Winnipeg and Toronto are all within an ER in which net international migration is the main growth factor. This source also accounts for the largest portion of demographic growth in the ERs of Saskatoon–Biggar, Regina–Moose Mountain, Vancouver and Halifax, to name but a few. Each of these ERs encompass a CMA.
As for the other ERs in which growth is mainly due to international migration, if they do not include a CMA within their area, they often encompass a census agglomeration (CA). This is the case for the ERs of Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown), Southwest in Manitoba (Brandon), Yukon (Whitehorse) and Fredericton–Oromocto (Fredericton), each of which contains a city with at least 25,000 inhabitants.
In a small number of ERs, the presence of major cities is not the reason for international migration being the main source of growth. Rather, some ERs located outside of urban centres experienced a decline in all components except international migration. It is relatively unusual for net international migration to become negative given the rarity of emigration. For example, immigration is the main source of growth in the ERs of Kootenay, Mauricie and Bas-Saint-Laurent, not because there was a huge influx of immigrants, but because the other components are simply smaller sources of growth.
Subprovincial migration: largest source of growth in ERs experiencing urban sprawl and in certain medium-size metropolitan areas
Subprovincial migration is the key growth factor for two types of ERs. First, a number of these ERs have a medium-size urban centre within their boundaries. They each encompass a CMA with fewer than one million inhabitants. In general, these CMAs are medium-size urban centres, meaning that they are not the most populous centre in their province. The Moncton–Richibucto and Capitale–Nationale ERs are good examples: they include the second-largest city in their province, respectively Moncton and Québec, and owe the largest portion of their growth to subprovincial migration. Similarly, the Ontario ERs of Kingston–Pembroke, Muskoka–Kawarthas and Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie each contain at least one large CMA, but none larger than Toronto. All of these ERs are attractive to the population, especially young people, many of whom move from a remote region in their province. The medium size of these ERs means that they suffer less from a loss of migrants through urban sprawl, unlike the three large ERs of Toronto, Lower Mainland–Southwest (including Vancouver) and Montréal. Furthermore, when there is an exodus in these three ERs to the suburbs, people often relocate to a neighbouring ER, given the relatively smaller area and high population density of the large ERs. By contrast, ERs such as Moncton–Richibucto, Capitale-Nationale and Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie have a larger territory and lower population density, making the exodus more frequent to suburbs within the same ER.
Second, this category includes a few ERs located on the immediate periphery of major cities. For example, the demographic growth of the Lanaudière and Laurentides ERs has been due mostly to subprovincial migration. They are located on the outskirts of the Montréal ER. Montréal is losing many young people likely to start families who are leaving the core of the metropolitan area to live in neighbouring ERs where the cost of owning a first property may be lower. The substantial contribution of subprovincial migration to the ERs surrounding the Montréal ER can therefore be explained in large part by urban sprawl, particularly since the Montréal ER is one of the most densely populated in the country. Similarly, the dominance of subprovincial migration in Manitoba's Interlake ER can be attributed to urban sprawl from the Winnipeg CMA.
Natural increase: driver of demographic growth in ERs where the age structure promotes births and limits deaths
The distinguishing feature of ERs that grew mainly through natural increase is generally their age structure. The vast majority of these ERs have at least one of the characteristics described below.
First, many ERs have a median age below the national average (39.9 years). Second, the proportion of the population consisting of youth under 18 years of age is often higher than that of Canada as a whole (20.1%). These two characteristics attest to the youth of these ERs and illustrate one of the consequences of a high fertility rate, which largely explains the high contribution of natural increase to the increase in these ERs. Moreover, the proportion of adults of childbearing age in these ERs is often higher than the Canadian average. Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton are examples of ERs that meet all of the criteria above.
Natural increase plays a crucial role in the population increase of certain ERs that do not necessarily have a young median age and where the share of the population aged 0 to 17 years is not significantly higher than the national average. The defining feature of these ERs is the relatively small proportion of persons aged 75 years or older in the total population. These ERs experience fewer losses due to deaths compared to Canada as a whole, which enables them to maintain a positive balance in terms of natural increase. The ERs of Chaudière-Appalaches, Centre-du-Québec and Abitibi-Témiscamingue are in this subgroup.
The youngest economic regions
For the purposes of this article, median age was used as an indicator of the aging of a population. The median age is an age "x", such that exactly one half of the population is older than "x" and the other half is younger than "x".
With a median age of 23.8 years as of July 1, 2011, the Northern ER in Saskatchewan is the youngest region in Canada. The Nunavut ER (24.8 years) and Northern ER in Manitoba (25.8 years) complete the top three Canadian ERs with the lowest median age.
In addition to the fact that many of these ERs are north of the 55th parallel, we also find that most of these ERs are in western provinces. In fourth place nationally, the Nord-du-Québec ER (28.9 years) is the only region in Central and Eastern Canada that made the list of the country's 10 youngest ERs.
Further south, the South Central ER in Manitoba ranked seventh with a median age of 33.5 years, and the Red Deer ER in Alberta ranked tenth with a median age of 35.3 years.
The oldest economic regions
While certain ERs in Canada's western and northern regions are notable because of their youth, the 10 ERs with the highest median age are found almost exclusively in Eastern Canada. The Atlantic provinces stand out with 5 of the 10 oldest ERs being located in that part of the country, which has only 15 ERs in total.
With a median age of 49.0 years, the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine ER retained its place as the oldest ER in Canada. The Notre Dame–Central Bonavista Bay ER in Newfoundland and Labrador (47.8 years) and the Southern ER in Nova Scotia (47.7 years) hold second place and third place, respectively, in the national ranking.
- Date modified: