According to figures collected by the provincial Ministry of Health, Estevan enjoyed a modest population boom in 2013.
The covered population report was recently posted to the ministry's website and showed that Estevan had an increase of almost 700 residents in 2013.
The report is a count of all persons who held Saskatchewan health coverage on June 30, and although it's not a census since it only counts those with health coverage, it is considered a good snapshot of a community's population on a year-by-year basis.
Estevan jumped from 12,444 residents to 13,115, an increase of 686 residents in just one year.
The increase is somewhat of a surprise. Estevan had experienced a steady increase from 2008 to 2011 due to the resource sector boom. But as the once frenzied pace slowed, many had anticipated that the population growth would also cool off.
Instead, the opposite proved true with the city experiencing an increase of roughly five per cent.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said he was pleased to hear of the increase and feels it vindicates their argument that the 2011 census, which said Estevan's population was 11,054, was incorrect. The City felt so strongly about their claim that they appealed the census results only to have their bid denied.
"We've always argued the fact that the census was low," Ludwig said. "With our transient population we felt we were much higher than what the stats were saying. We are not surprised with those numbers, we've argued between 13,000 and 14,000."
Ludwig added the City has placed an emphasis on attracting more residents as well as improving the ongoing housing situation and feels the report shows they are on the right track.
"All of our managers and people have been focusing on this and we are starting to see some gains and positive movement," he said.
The report also provided an interesting look into Estevan's demographics. Due to the type of work available, the Energy City has long been considered to have a younger population base. That was backed up by the report as it said that more than half of Estevan's residents were 39 and under.
As for other communities in the southeast, there were no major population swings in the past year. Bienfait saw a decline of just three residents while Torquay had a gain of 29. Lampman gained four residents, Midale increased by 32, Oxbow grew by 78 and Macoun added 40 residents.
Along with Estevan, both Carlyle and Weyburn had strong gains. Carlyle jumped to 2,010 residents from 1,886 in 2012 while Weyburn went from 11,403 residents in 2012 to 11,725 in 2013.
The RM of Estevan saw a jump from 533 in 2012 to 588 while the RM of Coalfields had an increase of 25 people.
Overall, the Sun Country Health Region enjoyed a solid increase, jumping from 56,890 to 58,644.
