Population count coming in May

The Town of Olds will be conducting its own census next month to capture data administrators believe wasn't collected in the federal census in 2011.

"We do want to get it in before the end of the college season, so we can get that group within our census numbers. We think there are certainly some gaps in the federal census and the process that has been undertaken both in 2011 and in 2006,î Norm McInnis, the town's chief administrative officer, said.

McInnis said the town wants to give it a first try this year and see what kind of resources it might take to do it on a more regular basis. The town is basing its census on what the City of Airdrie has done in the past, and will be enlisting that municipality's help.

"The other thing is the federal census now has got rid of what they call the long form, so a lot of the data that we have relied on for various things in the past is not going to be available through the federal census, so we want to set ourselves up to get this data locally that we have relied on for various economic development initiatives and other things,î he said.

The makeup of the community at the household level, the demographics of the community and socio-economic indicators are just a few of the puzzle pieces that are now missing from the community profile that administrators would find helpful in planning for the community's future.

"A number of municipalities both in Alberta and across the nation are really concerned about the data that won't be collected with the loss of the long form,î he said.

McInnis said the plan is to have seven census-takers come around to households with iPads and other hand-held devices to capture data from three questions that will help the town in planning for the future. The plan is to do the work during April.

McInnis said the town should have that data available for planning purposes by the time the census-takers have completed their work.

The town has budgeted $17,000 for the project.

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