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Census numbers nearly stable

Census data shows Houston's population fell to 3,147 last year, a loss of just 16 residents since 2006.

Census data shows Houston's population fell to 3,147 last year, a loss of just 16 residents since 2006.

That slight drop shows Houston's population decline is slowing.

From 1996 to 2006, when the decline in B.C. forestry jobs was underway, Houston lost roughly 10 per cent of its population every five years.

Outside Houston, rural area 'G' lost 84 residents, dipping from a population of 1,059 in 2006 to 975 in 2011.

The 2011 census data gives a snapshot of the Canadian population as of May 8, 2011.

Regionally, the Bulkley-Nechako saw a 2.5 rise since 2006, gaining 965 people to reach a total population of 39,208 people.

As a whole, British Columbia saw a seven per cent population boost between 2006 and 2011. That's part of a national trend that saw more Canadians living in B.C. and Prairie provinces than ever before.

Canada's entire population rose to 33.5 million in 2011. That is roughly double the 18.2 million people who lived in Canada fifty years ago.

The census also showed that Canada is increasingly urban, with roughly one in three Canadians living in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.

Laurent Martel, a demography expert with Statistics Canada, said on Wednesday that the census shows Canada is only growing because of immigration.

"With population aging and a fairly stable fertility, the number of deaths is increasing and the number of births is remaining more or less the same every year," he said, "Over the last 10 years, migratory increase became the key driver of Canada's population growth."