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Town’s population confirmed at 5,101

Statistics Canada released the results of the 2016 federal census earlier this month and the region has seen some fluctuation in population. Since the last federal census in 2011, the Town of Westlock saw its population grow 5.
The recently-released federal census confirms the town’s population sits at 5,101.
The recently-released federal census confirms the town’s population sits at 5,101.

Statistics Canada released the results of the 2016 federal census earlier this month and the region has seen some fluctuation in population.

Since the last federal census in 2011, the Town of Westlock saw its population grow 5.8 per cent to 5,101, while Westlock County’s population dropped 5.5 per cent to 7,220. The Village of Clyde saw an even greater decrease by 14.5 per cent to 430 people.

Town continues growth

Town mayor Ralph Leriger said he was not surprised by the result.

“We’ve expected this day would come for some time,” he said. “I think what it shows is that our community is growing and that in and of itself is not a bad thing.”

He said he suspected the influx was part of an overall urbanization trend seen across the country, continent and globe.

“Half of Canada’s population lives in six big cities now and certainly there are not nearly as many people living in the rurals as there used to be,” he said. “So I would expect we’ve got some of our population growth coming from the agricultural areas surrounding our community and some coming from other places, as we’re able to attract some business and industry and create some jobs.”

With changing populations, that could be reflected in the level of municipal services. Leriger said that after a new municipal council is elected in October, one of the first things they will look at is the previous term’s strategic plan and what was accomplished from that, in addition to a service-capacity review.

“You do a service-capacity review and you ensure the services you’re providing are indeed the ones that the citizens need and want and that you’re delivering them in an efficient manner — that you’ve got the right equipment, the right manpower and that level of service is appropriate for what you can afford.”

The biggest guaranteed change now that the town’s population is confirmed to be over 5,000, with be the municipality taking on policing costs.

Leriger said the next step is for the town to meet with the Solicitor General and determine what the transition plan will be and explore all options that are available. Early estimates put the cost at around $500,000.

“From that meeting, I’ll have the expectation that we’ll arrive at our policing requirements, and by that I mean how many officers, how many admin staff, what equipment is required, what’s the lease on the facility, and the costs associated with all those things,” he said.

Despite a looming municipal election that could see changes on council, Leriger said some of those decisions will have to be made.

Options for the town include entering into negotiations for an RCMP contract, considering a municipal police force, or contracting with another police force.

“It’s not like this council is going to stop making decisions today and leave everything to the next council — you move forward. They will be faced with the same challenge that we will face, so it would be inappropriate to stick the next council with a number of huge decisions.”

County numbers drop

Westlock County reeve Don Savage said he was taken aback that 424 people had left the municipality in the last five years, adding that he thought the population would have stayed status quo.

“As far as the census goes, if our numbers have gone down a bit, they’ve gone down,” he said. “I’m surprised they have though. We’ve had a lot of acreages put in place. Our building permits have been holding pretty well steady.”

He noted that there were county residents who worked up in Conklin and north of Fort McMurray, so they might have found different homes and jobs in other communities. Although he couldn’t say for sure what was behind the drop, he gave a firm “no” that it would impact county services.

“If they lived on some land, the land is still there and somebody is still paying the taxes on it,” he said.

“The only thing that affects the municipality and its services is the linear tax we’ve lost for the last two years. It adds up to a $1 million and it’s because of the assessment on the real estate.”

Clyde down also

The village saw the most significant drop, losing 73 residents in five years. Since the 2011 census, Clyde’s population fell 14.5 per cent from 503 to 430. Mayor Doug Nyal was not available for comment by press time.

• With files from Eric Bowling

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