Mayor Pond offers up a contrarian view to the census statistics and trends

The latest census numbers are old news, not reflective of the resurgence of the community and the positive developments to come.

That in effect was the response of Mayor Herb Pond to the census numbers released yesterday and which have led to a number of national media stories about the dire straits of the Northwest.

Pond said that the census has missed the trend, that the downward momentum is over and that the community is now on the rebound from the tough times of the last five years.

The Mayor pointed to a number of projects underway in the Prince Rupert area and the city’s own forecasts that suggest that within five years the city will have grown by at least 8,000 people.

Aware of the optics of a declining population base and the effect that it can have on government funding, Pond is busy trying to counter the impressions from both the Census statistics and the findings of BC statistics forecasts, which also have suggested that the North coast will have one of the province’s largest population slides.

The Daily News featured the story and Pond’s thoughts on the issue on the front page of Wednesday’s paper.

Falling population is now a thing of the past: Pond
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Page One

Prince Rupert may have lost more than 10 per cent of its population between the 2001 and 2006 census counts, but the population right now is on the rebound.

“The census completely misses the trend,” said Pond. “It got lower. The downward trend is already over and we are on the way up. The challenge is getting the decision-makers to see we are on the way up.”

Statistics Canada released the population counts for communities across Canada yesterday and Prince Rupert’s population, a number that has been the subject of much speculation, dropped from 14,643 in 2001 to 12,815.

The 12.5 per cent drop is in part due to the closure of the Watson Island Pulp mill in 2002, as well as a downturn in fishing and forestry.

However, in recent years, the community has made efforts to diversify its economy, opening the new Northland Cruise Terminal, a new college facility downtown and the opening of the Fairview Container Terminal in October of 2007. There are also a number of energy-related projects, such as the Mount Hays wind farm and Anyox Hydroelectric company preparing to come on line. And both the grain and coal terminals are busier than they have been in years, with good forecasts for the coming years.

And Monday night, the community saw its first major subdivision application in almost half a decade presented to council (see story on this page).

Pond said health care, seniors’ facilities and education are all areas where accurate growth forecasts are important for government.

Currently, B.C. Statistics forecasts the North Coast to have one of the province’s largest future population slides. It’s an image Pond said the city will be working hard to shed.
“Even when government views projects such as airport expansions, if they interpret that 12,000 people will be getting smaller, you are less likely to see things happen.”

Based on the city’s research, they forecast that in five years, the city will have grown by 6,000 to 8,000 people.

“Even without the pulp mill,” said Pond.

Prince Rupert was not the only community in the Northwest to experience a downturn in population between the last two census counts. In fact most communities did.
Port Edward’s population dropped by 12.4 per cent from 659 to 577.

Overall, the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District — which includes the North Coast and Queen Charlotte Islands — dropped by 9.4 per cent, from 21,693 to 19,664.

Area A of the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District — including Dodge Cove — dropped by 42.9 per cent, from 91 to 52.

Area C — including Oona River — dropped 26 per cent from 50 to 37.

Area D — rural Graham Island — grew by 12.8 per cent, from 538 to 607.

Area E — the rural area of Moresby Island — dropped by 12.6 per cent from 460 to 402.
The village of Masset saw its population grow marginally, from 926 to 940 while Old Massett’s population dropped by a small amount, down from 707 to 694.

The Village of Queen Charlotte, which did not exist during the last census, has a population of 948 and Port Clements dropped 14.7 per cent, from 516 to 440.

Meanwhile, Skidegate was up by 5.1 per cent, from 743 to 781. Port Simpson’s population is up marginally, from 667 to 679.

Hartley Bay’s population dropped from 162 to 157. Klemtu dropped from 295 to 282. Neither Kitkatla or Metlakatla were included in the count.

Terrace dropped by 6.5 per cent, from 12,109 to 11,320, while Kitimat dropped by 12.6 per cent, from 10,285 to 8,987 and Smithers dropped by 3.6 per cent, from 5,414 to 5,217.

The Bulkley Valley-Nechako Regional District dropped by 6.4 per cent, from 40,856 to 38,243, while the Kitimat Stikine Regional District dropped by seven per cent, from 40,876 to 37,999.