While Airdrie’s population continues to grow, the pace appears to be slowing, according to new census figures released by the City on July 6.
The population of Airdrie, as recorded in the 2015 census, is 58,690, up from 54,891 in the 2014 census. This equates to a 6.92 per cent growth rate or 10.4 people per day. From 2013 to 2014, Airdrie recorded a 10.76 per cent growth rate or 15 people per day.
Mayor Peter Brown called the slow down in growth “a relief.”
“This should provide us an opportunity to do some catch-up on our transportation infrastruture and some other things we’ve been falling behind on.”
According to Sharon Pollyck, manager of Legislative Services, the census was conducted online and by census workers going door-to-door between April 15 and June 30. This year’s census included questions about the number of residents in a household, income, employment status, age and gender of each resident along with a number of other questions.
While presenting the results to City council at its meeting July 6, Pollyck said census workers had in excess of 200 properties to visit in person when the online census closed on May 11 and were able to collect census data from all but a few.
“I’m really happy to say that there were (only) 31 properties that we were unable to get a response from,” she said. “We’re still very, very close to a 100 per cent response rate” at 99.95 per cent.
Still, Pollyck said ensuring everyone is counted is not without some challenges.
“We’re finding it increasingly difficult to get into multi-family complexes to get responses from residents,” she said. “We’re also finding we’re having an increasing number of people who are not coming to their door. We know they’re home because we can see movement or them peeking through their blinds but they won’t come to the door.”
The online census proved to be very popular, according to Pollyck, with 60.74 per cent of residents going online to provide data. In 2014, this number was 58.84 per cent.
Each year, Airdrie allows other municipalities to use its online system to complete their census for a fee. Pollyck said 24 municipalities used the system in 2015, earning the City a profit of approximately $194,000.
The number of dwellings in Airdrie included in the census in 2015 was 21,623, up 8.1 per cent, or 1,620 new homes, from 2014.
Pollyck said completion of the census is important for the City for a variety of reasons. It helps with planning and development and provides the City with access to per capita grants. The 3,799 new people counted in the 2015 Census equates to $1,147,298 in additional revenue for the City.
