The Mayor of Kamloops is encouraging everyone to fill out the 2021 census when it becomes available in the spring.
Ken Christian says we all have a lot of other things on our minds including the pandemic and he doesn’t want to lose the opportunity to provide the valuable information. “That data is very important in terms of our access to grants and the kinds of monies that the federal government send to provinces and to local governments.”
Christian says if we extrapolate the data from 2016, the Kamloops should have grown to just over 100,000, but it is important to know for sure. “Since the last census the numbers have been extrapolated based on growth projections and the latest one for 2021 is that Kamloops has 100,040 people. But that is not because we have counted noses, it’s because projecting based on the numbers we had in 2016.”
“We need accurate data that way you can make evidence based decisions and the only way we’re going to get that data is if everybody takes the census seriously and provides answers in the online format when it becomes available this spring” says Christian. “That way we can substantiate both the population of the city but also the growth rate going forward from 2020 and beyond. So we need to get this data into the system and that helps us on a whole myriad of fronts in terms of everything from recreation through to infrastructure through to employment and beyond.”
The next Census of Population will be available starting on May 3rd and will be available online. The 2021 Census of Population is Canada’s 23rd national census and collects information on the demographic, social and economic situation of people across the country, as well as on the dwellings they live in.
A note from Statistics Canada says it is aware that COVID-19 may have an impact on the way Canadians answer some of the census questions, including those on employment, education, commuting and expenditures. It is developing helpful guidelines to assist Canadians in their responses to these specific questions, given the COVID-19 impacts on households.
