NWT population grows slightly
Statistics Canada indicates 19,569 people in Yellowknife while many rural communities saw decreases
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Monday, February 13, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Twenty of the territory's communities saw their populations shrink compared to the 2011 census count, according census data released by Statistics Canada on Feb. 8.
Yellowknife's population has grown 1.7 per cent since 2011, the 2016 census figures showed.
The number of people living in the territory has a direct impact on territorial finances because the federal government transfers money based on population and most of the territory's revenue comes from those transfers.
In the 2017-18 fiscal year, the GNWT will receive $28,867 per person in transfer payments, according to Finance Canada.
The previous government set a goal of increasing the population to 45,550 by March 31, 2019, though little has been said about the target since the 2015 election.
Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne asked about the target when talking about the territory's 2017 budget in the legislative assembly on Tuesday.
"Have we deflated those efforts already? Although the government may improve their bottom line with this reorganization approach, the NWT's economic bottom line will indeed suffer, and this is not the time to impart more suffering," he said, referring to how the government plans to merge departments and cut jobs to save money.
The GNWT did not make any ministers available for an interview about the census results.
The city had 19,569 residents living in 7,340 dwellings when the national tally was carried out last year while Dettah had 219 people in 74 dwellings.
Demographic information like age, gender and income collected as part of the census will be released later this year.
