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Edmonton's Population
- Thread starter Kosy123
- Start date
IanO
Superstar
What's crazy is the sustained growth % between 50-65.
Glenco
Senior Member
4.8
dunno
Active Member
^ Check ur voicemail
Glenco
Senior Member
dunno
Active Member
Anecdotally, I've noticed that Alberta's popularity for interprovincial migration is stemming less from a boom in jobs compared with 10 years ago and more because of affordability mixed. The availability of jobs is obviously important, but seems secondary to affordability compared to BC and Southern Ontario, which makes sense based on that graphic (more affordable places like the East Coast and Quebec have less migration).
ChazYEG
Senior Member
It's crazy that the next two provinces are less populated than both Edmonton and Calgary's CMAs (and Saskatchewan has less people than Calgary proper, and will likely be caught up by Edmonton proper within another 2 or 3 years).
dunno
Active Member
Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba are doing pretty alright economically, too. Saskatchewan never had a strong resource boom like Alberta until very recently, so it didn't benefit from huge growth and urbanization between the '40s and '80s like Alberta did, and remained overwhelmingly agricultural for a lot longer. Manitoba boomed much earlier (particularly Winnipeg, but even other spots like Brandon) and then slowed significantly just as Alberta picked up in the '60s before stalling a couple decades later.
These two provinces picked up a lot in growth since the 2008 crisis, but they are starting from a smaller place because of decades of stunted growth. Winnipeg, like Montreal and Saint John, was meant to be much bigger than it became only for Edmonton and Calgary to plow far ahead of it such that even after it started growing and even booming, it's impossible for it to catch up. Saskatoon and Regina are starting from an even smaller spot. It'd take a Winnipeg/Regina in the '90s type stagnation for these cities to ever catch up. Which is theoretically possible, because Edmonton was in a similar spot in the '90s too, but it'd need to last for more than a decade.
Basically, yeah, they're a lot less populated for historical reasons, but are in a similar position of economic desirability. Those provinces are just starting from a smaller place and also as a result don't have quite as many amenities. While Edmonton is no Vancouver or Toronto, it still has more than Winnipeg for amenities, and even more so than SK's cities. So it's less of a 'step down' (as much as I hate that term) for someone from North York or Burnaby.
David A
Senior Member
I feel that what might distinguish the next 5 to 10 years is a lot of growth in Alberta will be affordability driven with a steady and perhaps increasing influx of people from BC and Ontario.
Alberta has the advantage of proximity to BC compared to the other western Canadian provinces and also our cities are larger than other affordable ones, so it may be an easier adjustment for people moving from the less affordable big cities. Of course some people will move to other places as well, so places like Winnipeg and Halifax may benefit too.
Alberta has the advantage of proximity to BC compared to the other western Canadian provinces and also our cities are larger than other affordable ones, so it may be an easier adjustment for people moving from the less affordable big cities. Of course some people will move to other places as well, so places like Winnipeg and Halifax may benefit too.
BASE
Active Member
It seems like, at least for Edmonton, we have the ability to welcome a much larger population while maintaining affordability. It might be an irrational thought but I really want to see the continued growth as I feel like the larger population and increased importance because of that nationally will help ride out waves as we transition our economy a bit.
EdmTrekker
Senior Member
What we don't know yet is the est. number of immigrants to Edmonton Metro of the total of Alberta population flows in Q1 2023. Maybe the professor will share that.
JuliallThat
Active Member
Which is entirely the reason me and my partner moved from Burnaby to Edmonton lol. It wasn't as significant a downgrade in services, shops or work opportunities as it would've been to move to Winnipeg. And of course it's affordable here, moreso than Calgary. Though I do find myself missing the urban form and geographical diversity of metro Vancouver. Montréal was on the table for me but my partner didn't want to learn french.
Genuinely I'm hopeful for a continued exodus to here, Edmonton is well equipped to continue to be the most affordable city in the country and if a flexible zoning and development framework enables more construction here than other Canadian cities then we can take full advantage of sky high immigration rates and interprovincial migrations.
archited
Senior Member
@JuliallThat a very positive and welcome outlook -- I enjoy your posts!
dunno
Active Member
That makes a lot of sense. For what it's worth, as someone with the opposite experienced - living in Prairie cities my whole life (though not just in Edmonton), I've long thought about moves to the bigger Canadian centres. But as much as I enjoy Vancouver and Toronto for their vibrancy, urbanism, and amenities, it's just not worth it unless you luck out with a well paying job and decent rent/mortgage rates. And I also thought about Montreal, but the French thing is a real obstacle. So, you can live in Edmonton (or Calgary or Winnipeg even) and fly out to Vancouver or Toronto for vacation and actually afford to go out instead of being unable to afford anything because you're house poor. I am frustrated by how slow things feel like they're progressing sometimes here, and am disappointed with how things have gone in many instances, but there's some good policies (garden suites, infill prioritization, bike lane expansion, removal of parking minimums) that should have positive, long-term results. And having people like yourself from more urban-minded locales influencing what's desirable and acceptable here is also huge. Edmonton may not have Vancouver or Toronto's urbanism, but if enough Vancouverites and Torontonians get priced out and move here, hopefully some of those values rub off on this city. Unfortunately, it does seem like half the migrants from BC/Ontario aren't here to more affordably live an urban lifestyle, but to get something they could never get back home: a sizable house with a yard in the suburbs that doesn't cost a million dollars and has a short commute to boot.
archited
Senior Member
I wouldn't refer to owning a house with some property surrounding "unfortunate" -- it is a lifestyle choice. We should be able to accommodate many different lifestyle choices without ranking them on a desirability scale. Downtown density will come because there are many who prefer condo or apartment living and Edmonton has an extremely bright future in that regard. The 15-minute city concept is desirable -- I lived that growing up in (of all places) Edmonton. I could and did walk just under 2 blocks to a movie theatre (Avenue); the grocery store (Co-op) was 3 blocks away, my Elementary school (Delton) was also 3 blocks away, the streetcar stop was also 3 blocks away that provided transportation downtown to the Bay, Eatons, Woodwards, Kresge's, Woolworths, and a plethora of eateries (the Waffle Shop was my favorite as a kid). I had a backyard skating rink in winter; we had a crab apple tree and raspberry canes on the property; I rode my bike everywhere (including to Junior High School -- Eastwood); there was a community park with swings, slides, etc. 2 blocks distant from our house; I had a network of friends throughout the neighborhood and we played together unsupervised in about a ten-block area. My point -- it was a damned good life-style and providing that as a goal again is a very positive thing.