Local Economist Likes Nelson's Population Increase
By Bill Metcalfe
Local numbers-watcher Mike Stolte says the 10.5% increase in Nelson’s population is just about right. “It is not at an Okanagan pace,” the economist said, “but you do want to grow a little. You don’t want the population falling because anyone wanting to relocate there will wonder about the viability of the community.”
He was responding to population numbers from the 2011 census that came out this week. Nelson’s population is reported as 10,230, an increase of 972 people from the 2006 census. It’s the first time Nelson’s population has surpassed 10,000.
The psychological effect
“Psychologically, people always feel better if their community is growing. If the community sees itself in decline, they say, Oh my God what’s happening? I thought it was interesting that Nelson, Trail, Castlegar and Creston, the four biggest communities in the area, all grew, which I think is heartening.”
In 2006, scepticism
When the previous census numbers for Nelson came out in 2006, Stolte says “people were sceptical. The numbers did not seem to reflect what people seemed to intuitively know— that the town was getting busier, it seemed really crowded, vacancy rates were really low. There are a lot of people in suites in this town that are not counted, because people don’t want anyone to know they are living in them.” He says the new numbers seem more accurate.
De-ruralization
“If you look at the net growth in the 2011 census, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) grew by 2500 people, and 1300 of those were in Nelson, so over half the growth of the RDCK is in Nelson. That is fairly substantial.”
Stolte said that’s part of a national trend toward big centres and smaller sub-centres getting bigger at the expense of the smaller areas. “If you look at what is happening in Canada, there is de-ruralization.”
This is born out by a look at the 2011 census numbers for small, unincorporated places in the Kootenays. Ainsworth, Christina Lake, Genelle, Riondel, and Robson are examples of the many communities whose population have declined since the 2006 census.
Details available online
The federal government conducts the census every five years. Details on the census numbers for the country and for our area can be found here.
