The District of Houston council has yet to have a full discussion on the recently-released census figures for the community but mayor Shane Brienen is wondering at their accuracy.
The 2021 count by Statistics Canada places the population at 3,052 people, a two per cent increase — 59 people — over the 2016 figure of 2,993 people.
“We just seem to be quite a bit busier,” said Brienen of activity over the past several years.
“Our real estate sales are up and there’s new businesses,” he said.
“People are moving here.”
Brienen said he expects council to discuss the result at its next opportunity.
“We did have Statistics Canada in here before,” he said of concerns raised by council going into last year’s official count by the federal agency.
Population figures from official agencies are closely monitored by local governments as they can often be used by senior governments to determine the dollar value of grants and programs provided to those local governments.
Houston and District Chamber of Commerce manager Maureen Czirfusz is also wondering about the 2021 census count.
“The census numbers have always been questioned in Houston. It is only an accurate count of the people who participated and completed the questionnaire,” said Czirfusz.
“Without a complete breakdown of the age categories, it is unfair to say why increases and decreases have been.”
“We have seen a trend of people moving to the Houston area from other parts of the province as the Houston area is still an affordable place to live,” she said.
There had been speculation that because of the increase in economic activity tied to the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, and a general upswing in economic activity, population statistics would have been higher in comparison to 2016.
More specific population statistics such as age groupings will be released later by Statistics Canada as will data about incomes and other economic factors.
One indicator of a population increase is residential construction, something District studies have urged as essential to attract and retain people.
“With the cost of construction right now and the delays in receiving supplies, we do not see a surge in new construction for 2022,” said Czirfusz.