The mayors of the Northeast’s two largest communities are happy with the census results, while the mayor of the third-largest community is not.
Melfort grew by 416 people to reach 5,992 people for the 2016 census, Nipawin grew by 136 to reach 4,401 and Tisdale grew by 55 to reach 3,235. The Northeast as a whole lost 1,161 people, ending up at 42,164.
“From our perspective, I think the census results were very [good],” said Rick Lang, Melfort’s mayor. “We were pleased with them because when I did a review of the numbers, Melfort was one of the fastest growing cities in the entire province.”
Melfort is growing at 7.5 per cent, only beaten by Warman, Martensville, Lloydminster-in-Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoon.
“I thought we did very well and I think that reflects what Melfort has to offer to citizens.”
Rennie Harper, Nipawin’s mayor, was also pleased.
“We have three per cent growth. That’s not to be sneezed at when you look at what’s happening in the rest of the province.”
“We’re a bit relieved that we haven’t reached the 5,000 number. That would mean a significant change in the policing costs for Nipawin,” said Barry Elliott, Nipawin’s administrator. “As much as we want good growth – and we feel we’ve got some decent growth – we’re appreciative of the fact we’ve got a bit of a reprieve on that.”
Elliott said he believes the town is seeing growth because it’s a regional hub and it has a good quality of life.
Al Jellicoe, Tisdale’s mayor, isn’t happy with the results, which show 1.7 per cent growth.
“I thought it was a little low,” he said. “I think they’ve missed some people.”
The town argues that with the development of Caleb Village and more housing starts, there should be more growth.
Lang said the continued growth of the three largest communities is a good thing for the region.
“When you look at those larger communities in the Northeast, they’re still growing and that’s important,” he said. “It’s important because for the larger communities, there’s a lot at stake when you look at census numbers.”
For example, there are medical facilities that need to be justified and government tends to give grants based on the number of people measured by the census.
