The municipality is looking to move forward with its 2012 census.
Mayor Melissa Blake says that it’s important to get an accurate count of all the people in the region, because the population size influences the government funding grants that are available to the region.
She says she hopes people are honest when the enumerators come around, and adds that they are only asking how many people live in a residence just so they can complete the count.
Blake says, “When we go to the doors in the municipality, we’re asking people to be honest. Not because there’s any ulterior motive other than to try and get the grant funds that come from whomever is sharing in that residence. It’s a municipal census, it goes no further. We’re not looking at any other elements at that point.”
The 2010 municipal census found that there were more than 75,000 people living in Fort McMurray, and close to 105,000 living throughout the region. The 2011 federal census showed that the population for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is only around 65,000.
That discrepancy is because the RMWB uses an extrapolation method. Mayor Blake explains, “Whenever we undertake a census, we always try to work with the province to get an approved methodology before we begin.”
“For doors that don’t get answered, by and large, we know that none of the homes in our community are empty. And if they are, it’s certainly not for very long.” She adds, “We do get a good, accurate count for the neighbourhoods that we go to.”
The muncipality’s numbers that were the result of the extrapolation method were rejected, because the method counts everyone in the region — those who use the roads, pay rent, and use municipal services such as water. However, the method does not account for how many of those people have a permanent residence elsewhere in Canada.
Published March 28th, 2012
