Towns, RMs question census numbers
February 14, 2022, 7:34 am
Kevin Weedmark
Local municipal leaders are questioning census numbers that show decline in some local communities.
Many officials expressed surprise that the census shows lower population numbers while every other indicator is going in the other direction—health population statistics show growth, and many towns have seen significant economic growth, have had new housing units built, and have low vacancy numbers. Many are questioning some of the census numbers.
According to the census, the communities of Moosomin, Esterhazy, Virden, and Redvers have lost population and have hundreds of empty homes, while the community of Whitewood is—according to the census numbers—the fastest growing community in the area, showing 9.5 per cent growth in five years. Meanwhile there are fewer active health cards for Whitewood than five years ago.
According to the census figures, Esterhazy has shrunk by 6.3 per cent in five years and has 290 empty homes out of 1,358, and Moosomin has shrunk by 3.1 per cent and has 105 unoccupied homes (based on the census count of 1207 total residences in Moosomin—the actual number of residences in Moosomin according to the town is 1,239, so the census count of occupied dwellings is 137 less than the total number of residences in Moosomin).
According to the census, Redvers has shrunk 3.3 per cent and has 71 unoccupied dwellings, and Virden has shrunk by 6.1 per cent and has 107 unoccupied dwellings. According to the census, Fleming has a total of 34 dwellings, while the town sends out residential water bills to 44 households.
According to the census figures, Moosomin’s population declined from 2,743 to 2,657 between 2016 and 2021, while Saskatchewan Health’s covered population, based on active health cards, shows an increase in Moosomin from 2,886 in 2011 to 3,336 in 2021, an increase of more than 10 per cent.
Moosomin Mayor Larry Tomlinson said he doesn’t believe the StatsCan numbers.
“I was sure we would be up just based on what’s going on and what’s come to town. I’m shocked that they’re showing that we’re down, especially when the health numbers are so much higher. I’m sure these census numbers aren’t right.”
“The census is saying that we have more than 100 empty houses and there’s just no way that’s true,” Tomlinson said. “There are only 15 houses for sale in Moosomin, and you can hardly find a place to rent, so that just can’t be right. There’s just no way our population is going down. I think they’re miscounting. Something’s not right. I think the health numbers are way closer. It could be that people just didn’t go online and fill it out. There’s got to be a better way of doing this than just asking people to go online.
“It’s very important to get an accurate count,” Tomlinson said. “Our revenue sharing is based on these numbers. It costs us a lot of money if they miss people. I don’t know if the problem is just that people didn’t go online and fill it out, or what the problem is, but those numbers can’t be right. It’s impossible.”
Moosomin town council discussed the census numbers at the council meeting Wednesday night and decided to ask Souris-Moose Mountain MP Dr. Robert Kitchen to look into the census.
According to Statistics Canada, Esterhazy has 1,358 dwellings, but only 1,068 “dwellings occupied by usual residents,” meaning there are 290 empty houses or crew houses
“I took a look and I thought holy, I don’t believe those numbers,” said Esterhazy Mayor Grant Forster.
“There aren't 300 empty houses in Esterhazy,” said Forster. “There might be three.”
He said the idea that Esterhazy—which has seen many new businesses open in the last few years and billions of dollars invested in the potash industry—is shrinking is ridiculous.
“According to the census, it’s down 157. There’s not a chance. That’s ridiculous. That’s just wrong. Every potential place for people to live is full. People are doing anything and everything to find a place to live, and they think we’re 157 less than we were five years ago? It makes absolutely no sense to me. We were wondering if some of the people living and working here filled out the census based on where their home town is, not where they’re working, but I still don’t see where we could be down 157 permanent residents in four years. It just doesn’t make any sense.
“I think we’re going to have to reach out to StatsCan and say what’s going on here, because a drop of 157 people is a substantial drop in revenue. We’re losing money from the province if they go with these numbers.
“I don’t see how it would make any sense to anyone who lives in this area how we can see the poplation drop like that. It’s baffling to say the least.
“I will recommend to council that we try to get some answers from StatsCan because it really hits us in the pocketbook being down that number of people. There are all these per-capita grants that are going to be affected by numbers that aren’t necessarily real.”
Kendra Lawrence, CAO of the RM of Moosomin, says she is looking through the RM of Moosomin’s numbers but says her reaction on initially looking at them is “Wow do they seem out of this world. I have not had a full opportunity to review Moosomin’s as it has Welwyn with the RM together. Moosomin is going to be more difficult to figure out due to this.”
She points out, however, that according to the census “Fleming has 34 total dwellings listed yet they invoice 44 residential water bills. So they are definitely missing houses, and from a quick count myself of people, they are missing some people there as well. I count 95 doing a quick count.” According to the census, Fleming had 70 residents in 2021, down from 84 in 2016.
According to the Saskatchewan Health covered population stats there are 99 people with a current health card who call Fleming home.
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