Northern Economist 2.0

Thursday 13 January 2022

2021 Census Updates Out: Since 2016, Sudbury Up 2.2 Percent, Thunder Bay Up 0.3 Percent

A very quick post. So, the 2021 census population numbers are finally out from Statistics Canada along with updates for the entire 2001 to 2021 period. I have been waiting for these numbers for some time to see how Thunder Bay and Sudbury have done and the results are interesting.  Since 2016, Sudbury CMA has seen a population increase from 169,136 to 172,781 - an increase of 2.2 percent.  Indeed, Sudbury has seen a pretty steady increase in population since 2001 going from 164,210 in 2001 to 172,781 - an increase of 5.2 percent.  Thunder Bay CMA went from 126,696 in 2001 to 124,840 by 2016 before rebounding to 125,247 by 2021.  However, since 2001, Thunder Bay CMA  has actually declined by just over 1 percent.  Staring in 2016, there has been a tiny rebound equivalent to about one third of one percent.  Thunder Bay saw a major decline from 2004 to 2016 followed by a rebound that appears to have ended starting 2020. It would appear that the pandemic year has seen a bit of an exodus from Thunder Bay. So, from 2016 to 2021, Sudbury is up 2.2 percent and Thunder Bay 0.3 percent. So, there you have it.