Once upon a time, the Covered Population Report from eHealth Saskatchewan was a must-read for those who wanted an accurate idea of how many people actually resided in the Estevan area.
It was an annual report, tabulated on June 30, of how many people with Saskatchewan Health cards were living in the city. It did a pretty good job of including those who were working in Estevan on a short-term and medium-term basis.
Compare that with the federal census, which was released once every five years, and seemingly failed to include people in the community for work-related purposes. The figures for the 2006 and 2011 censuses were justifiably met with widespread ridicule in Estevan.
Many started to give more credibility to the Covered Population Report than the census.
And while the Covered Population Report isn’t perfect (the document is skewed towards urban municipalities over their rural counterparts), if you add the number of people in the city and the RM of Estevan, for example, it is likely pretty close to accurate, and a far better picture than the census.
For what it’s worth, the report shows the city’s population was 13,221 in 2017 (down from 13,306 the previous year), while the RM’s population was at 679, up from 658 the previous year. You can see how the numbers are lower for the RM than they should be, but the 13,900 total residents would be a pretty fair assessment.
The 2016 census, meanwhile, pegged the city and RM’s population at around 12,600 people.
Hopefully we’ll start to see the numbers grow for the city and the RM of Estevan.
As has been well-documented, the last few years haven’t always been kind to Estevan. The price of oil plunged, leading to a significant economic slowdown. A region that once had near-zero unemployment suddenly had lots of people looking for work.
There has also been uncertainty about the future of units 4 and 5 at the Boundary Dam Power Station.
Don’t get us wrong, a lot of great things have happened in the area since the oil price slump started in the summer of 2014. But economic times have been tough, and it has affected everyone directly or indirectly.
There seems to be more optimism in the community, thanks to a recovery in the price of oil. Activity is picking up in the patch, and companies are looking for workers.
If the price of oil continues to hover around US$65 per barrel (West Texas inventory), It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the spring, once road bans are lifted.
It won’t be glory days of a few years ago, but there is a cautious optimism that hasn’t been there in the last few years.
Hopefully, that optimism leads to more people living here, both long-term and short-term. And a higher price of oil not only translates to more people and a stronger local economy, but it touches every aspect of the community.
Real estate, retail and hospitality businesses all stand to gain. If people make more money, they’ll have more money to spend.
Hopefully the gains will lead to more people in the community, and higher population numbers for both the city and the RM when the 2018 report is released.
