836 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The City of Victoria grew by just over 800 new residents while Saanich added 282.

Victoria population rises to 360,063
By Mike Kozakowski, VibrantVictoria.ca
http://vibrantvictor...ises-to-360063/

3,525 new residents called metropolitan Victoria home in 2011 according to a population estimate released by the Capital Regional District.

In total, the Capital’s population rose to 360,063 from 356,538 in 2010.

The fastest growing region was the west shore, encompassing Colwood, Highlands, Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, Langford, Metchosin and Sooke, adding 1,846 residents, or just over half of the entire metropolitan area’s population growth. The fastest growing municipality on the west shore was Sooke with a growth rate of 4% (adding 460 new residents) followed by Langford at nearly 3.5% (adding just over 1,000 residents). [Read more]

[aastra]

Wasn't there supposed to be a catastrophic exodus because there aren't any jobs and houses are too expensive and all of that? Looks like it didn't happen.

800 in a year is pretty good growth for the city proper.

[G-Man]

Despite the West Comms having the highest growth rate, I note that the highest growth place by total number was Victoria and that we clobbered Saanich! That has to be a big turnaround.

[G-Man]

Oh I see that Langford is still ahead of Vic in total numbers. Whoops

[Sparky]

Victoria population rises to 360,063 By Mike Kozakowski • Published on Monday, September 19, 2011 http://vibrantvictor...ises-to-360063/

"3,525 new residents called metropolitan Victoria home in 2011 according to a population estimate released by the Capital Regional District." [...]


This statement might not be entirely correct. Let me explain.

I was driving through town the other day marveling at how our city has grown, and looking at the trend for condominiums that has changed not only the skyline but the lifestyle of the region over the last say 45 years. Now they are still sprouting up everywhere from Broughton Street to Langford.

Where are these people coming from that are living in these buildings? Where do they work?.....or do they? Victoria must still be desirable place to live in order to warrant all this construction and growth.

Not to be morbid, but if there is a net growth of 3,525 people in one year, that could equate to many more "new residents" if you subtract the people that have moved away from the city for whatever reason.....and if you subtract the people that have passed away. Newborns also skew the numbers as they are "new residents" as well.

All in all, if we look at the population forecast, there does not appear to be a decline in population for the foreseeable future, and I think that is a good thing.

My point was that I think there a lot more new residents coming here than we might calculate from the census.....and I hope they enjoy themselves here, I know I do.

[G-Man]

The numbers should include newborns but your point is a good one especially when you note the loss of people as well. However this number would be your net new people. Also this is an estimate based on the 2006 census and the number should get slightly more inaccurate the farther from the source data. Why the new census data is not ready when the majority was done online is beyond me.

[Phil McAvity]

^Uh, because it's the government. They aren't exactly known for their swiftness. You should know, you work in the government don't you?

[Mike K.]

That's a good point, Sparky. Typically every year the city will lose about 12,000 residents to migration to other cities and gain about 13,000 to 14,000. Other loses/gains occur with newborns and deaths.

In 2010 the CRD estimated that we gained 2,600 residents (newborns, newcomers, etc) but in 2011 the growth was estimated to be much higher. This could be due to the fact that other Island communities are not faring nearly as well as Victoria (Nanaimo has a very high unemployment rate) and many Islanders from small communities see Victoria as the big city and migrate here, while Victorians look to Vancouver.

[Phil McAvity]

^Uh, because it's the government. They aren't exactly known for their swiftness. You should know, you work in the government don't you?

If I remember correctly the 2006 census results weren't out until the following year.

[VicHockeyFan]

Not to be morbid, but if there is a net growth of 3,525 people in one year, that could equate to many more "new residents" if you subtract the people that have moved away from the city for whatever reason.....and if you subtract the people that have passed away. Newborns also skew the numbers as they are "new residents" as well.

I'm guessing that we have many more deaths than births here. In Canada in general this is true, but I'm guessing the ratio is higher here. EDIT: Hmm, I'm wrong about this stat. How can we have a birthrate (1.7/woman) that is below replacement needs (2.1/woman) but we have more live births than deaths right now? I guess that's because of the boomer bubble moving along in the middle right now. I guess over the next 20-40 years that will change. I wonder if there is a calculation of what year will see the most total deaths in Canada. Maybe a good time to get into the funeral business, at least temporarily.

[LJ]

Maybe a good time to get into the funeral business, at least temporarily.

Nah, you wouldn't want to do that, it's a dying business.

Sorry.

[jonny]

Has anybody else noticed many more Arabs living in Victoria over the past few years or is it just me?

[Bernard]

Natural population growth in Canada (births minus deaths) will stop in about 15 years at the current trend. In BC it will be a couple years later but interestingly we have dipped into natural population shrinkage for more than a decade now.

For the last decade fertility in SD #61 has been around 1.2 - all health and demographic stats in BC are done by school district. This is well below what is needed to have the population grow. Our age pyramid is not really a pyramid as each year more women age out of child bearing years than enter it.

[Mike K.]

Has anybody else noticed many more Arabs living in Victoria over the past few years or is it just me?

I've seen a lot more woman wearing traditional headwear (burkas?). And a lot of Saudi Arabian and UAE students are coming here to study English.

Before we mostly had Asian students but now Middle Eastern, Central and South American students are making up a larger proportion of English students.

[jonny]

I've seen a lot more woman wearing traditional headwear (burkas?). And a lot of Saudi Arabian and UAE students are coming here to study English.

Before we mostly had Asian students but now Middle Eastern, Central and South American students are making up a larger proportion of English students.

I'm don't know about Middle Eastern students, but I have noticed more students from Central and South America.

I have really noticed an increase in the number of Arab families with small children. Most women seem to be wearing just the hijab (headscarf) and conservative western clothing rather than the full burqa. I have seen some women wearing burqas though.

[Mike K.]

Ah, ok, I have to admit I didn't know the difference between a burqa and a hijab.

[Baro]

I love the look of an attractive lady in a nice hijab, really frames the face and ties an outfit together.

[G-Man]

Quadra Village seems to have a growing middle eastern population. That is really where Victoria needs to focus some of its efforts. We need to attract a large amount of ethnic groups. I would love to see some more shop space go into Quadra Village so that there could be more space for newcomers to open shops.

The diversity you see in Vancouver is really one of the key things that I appreciate about Vancouver over Victoria.

[Sparky]

^ Well said.

[Mike K.]

The biggest obstacles to retail diversity in Victoria are prohibitive lease rates, maintenance costs and taxes.

We only need to look so far as the comings and goings thread to get a sense of how much turnover there is.