OLDS — The fact that Olds’ population only by grew by 0.3 per cent over the past five years is not surprising, given the economic challenges the province has faced lately, deputy mayor Darren Wilson says.
From 2016 to 2021, Olds grew from 9,184 residents to 9,209, an increase of 0.3 per cent, according to figures released on Feb. 9 by Statistics Canada.
In recent years, town officials had speculated the new census might show Olds with a population of around 10,000.
That would have had implications in many areas.
For example, the population of a community determines how much grant money it receives from senior levels of government.
“The 0.3 per cent population change 2016-2021 as reported by Statistics Canada is not totally surprising, given the economic challenges the province has encountered, the downturn in the oil and gas industry and the impact of the pandemic during the past two years,” Wilson wrote in an email.
“Bedroom communities (close) to large urban centres seemed to do well in terms of population growth; while some rural communities and counties experienced population decline,” he wrote.
“Locally, our residential housing market continues to show strength. Economic growth and community development opportunities will emerge and council will work with administration to ensure the town of Olds has a viable economic development strategy to capitalize on business retention, investment, expansion and tourism opportunities to drive sustainable, manageable growth.”
Wilson indicated that town council and administrative staff will keep the report’s information in mind “to better understand the population results and trends at a local, county and provincial level” as they hammer out the Town’s next budget and undertake long-range planning.
