Early 2016 Canada Census numbers are in, and Chatham-Kent continues to lose population.
Between 2011 and 2016, the municipality saw its population drop to 101,647 from 103,671. That’s a decrease of two per cent. But the rate of decline is slowing. From 2006 to 2011, our population declined by 4.2 per cent.
Don Shropshire, CAO for the municipality, said the lower population numbers weren’t a surprise.
“From our perspective, the biggest single factor is what is happening with jobs,” he said. “But the thing you don’t know is what is happening between the two census takings. We could have dipped below 101,000 in 2013 and then come up a bit.”
He cited our lower unemployment rate these days – 5.8 per cent in November – as a strong sign our economy is in much better shape locally now than it has been in recent years.
“We lost a lot of people between 2006 and 2011, almost exclusively due to jobs, particularly when the auto industry suffered the way it did,” Shropshire said.
While the economy has rebounded somewhat, he added the municipality also began looking at resident attraction after the 2011 census, and made an effort to connect with young adults.
“We’ve seen some modest gains. An example of that is we’re the only community in Canada that has been identified as a Welcoming Community (by the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in 2016),” he said.
By having such a designation, Shropshire anticipated immigrants will see the benefits of moving to Chatham-Kent. He said often newly landed immigrants generally flock to large urban centres to get settled in a country, and then look to find a more permanent place to live.
The municipality also works with provincial and federal governments to attract and integrate newcomer immigrants through the Newcomer Attraction Program and the Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership.
Municipal and community partners are working together to promote the community as a preferred destination for those who prefer smaller communities that have cultural and lifestyle amenities such as active retirees.
Having a lower unemployment rate is one thing to attract citizens, Shropshire said. Having higher paying jobs is the next goal.
“We’ve done a good job getting people back to work. Now we have to do a better job in raising the wages, as that is another attraction,” he said. “We have to set up the training for better paying jobs.”
That training comes in the form of skilled trades apprenticeships, college and university education.
“There are really good paying jobs to be had in Chatham-Kent, but sometimes we don’t have the workforce to take advantage of those jobs,” Shropshire said.
Combating the pull to the Greater Toronto Area is a challenge that C-K isn’t alone in dealing with. The draw from the large urban centres, especially for young adults, is strong across North America. But as the young adults marry and look to start a family, things can change.
“At some point, how does someone at 25 years of age who wants to buy a house and raise a family do that in Toronto,” Shropshire asked.
He said there are signs life is picking up in Chatham-Kent, pointing to the unemployment rate, a declining caseload in Ontario Works locally, modest business growth assessment, and a real estate market that enjoyed a great year in 2016.
“I look at the housing market, talk to neighbours buying and selling, and real estate agents – this is the hottest market in 20 years,” he said.
In urban Chatham-Kent, every community lost population, according to the census, except Dresden and Tilbury. Gains in those communities were modest at best.
In rural Chatham-Kent, the downward population trend meant little from an agricultural perspective, Shropshire said, as the long-term trends in the farming community point to fewer farms and farmers, but bigger farm businesses, and increased productivity. There are about 2,200 farms in the municipality.
A key challenge that municipal staff are working on is raising the Chatham-Kent profile as a community that people “want to raise their families in and do their business in,” he added. “We’re an affordable, safe community. I think we’re doing the right things; we just have to keep doing them.”
