Some communities and RM’s are down but overall numbers are up
The 2022 covered health population figures are showing a rebound in population numbers for several communities and rural municipalities throughout the area after an overall decrease in numbers the year before.
The covered health population is a count of everyone who held Saskatchewan health coverage on June 30. The report does not include people who have moved into the province but have not yet met the residency requirement of three months or people who moved out of province but remain eligible for coverage for the same period. It also does not include members of the Canadian Armed Forces, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and inmates of federal prisons, all of whom are covered by the federal government.
Numbers from the covered health figures can also be skewed as farm or First Nation residents who list a box number instead of a land location will be included in the totals of the community where their post office box is located. It does however provide a snapshot of trends from year to year.
According to the figures, Broadview has continued to see growth over the last number of years with the community increasing by 32 people since last year, which is more than three times the growth of the previous year of 10 new residents. Since 2019, the town has increased by nearly three per cent.
After losing 80 people last year, Indian Head saw a rebound and grew by just over one per cent, with the addition of 28 new people. Wapella also saw trends reverse after the town went from losing seven people last year to gaining 12 people this year. Meanwhile Moosomin, which dropped 73 people last year, recovered with an increase of 68 this year for a two per cent increase.
Whitewood, Grenfell and Wolseley all saw further declines in their populations over the last year with Whitewood dropping by 63 people, out pacing last year’s loss of 59 people. Grenfell only dropped four people this year compared to the loss of 44 the year previous while Wolseley’s population decline slowed to 11 people from the 33 it lost the year previous.
The five RM’s of Elcapo, Indian Head, Silverwood, Willowdale and Wolseley saw an overall growth of 34 people over the last year, with three of the five gaining residents. The RM of Wolseley saw an increase of almost 12 per cent, or 24 people, over last year while Willowdale’s numbers rose by 13 people, or almost nine per cent. The RM of Indian Head went up just slightly with two new people while the RM of Elcapo lost one and the RM of Silverwood lost four.
Overall, the population of the communities listed saw a sharp turn around from the year before with an overall increase of 96 people compared to an overall loss of 286 the year previous. The total population rose from 12,937 in 2021 to 13,033 for 2022.
Compared to 10 years ago (2013), the population of the area has seen an overall growth of 2.5 per cent, equaling an increase of 320 people. Communities to see growth compared to 2013 are Moosomin (238), Indian Head (180), Broadview (36) and Wapella (4). Towns to see declines since 2013 are Grenfell (132), Wolseley (63) and Whitewood (34). Compared to 10 years ago the RM of Wolseley has grown 49 people while the RM’s of Elcapo and Willowdale are up 38 and 29 respectively. Meanwhile, compared to 2013, the RM of Silverwood is down 20 people and the RM of Indian Head declined by five.
