Amidst world turmoil and economic uncertainty as we sail towards the beginning of a new year, things are looking good for Saskatchewan.
According to the stats our population is up and prospects look good.
StatsCan issues its population projections every five years, outlining seven possible scenarios for population growth in Canada and the provinces. Its projections for Saskatchewan range from the province having a population of anywhere from 1,174,000 people to 1,527,000 people by 2038. The lower growth projections are based on population trends dating back to Saskatchewan's zero-growth period of the 1990s and early 2000s.Premier Brad Wall says he believes the strong growth scenarios are more likely, based on the experience in Saskatchewan in the past few years.
"Saskatchewan is strong and growing," he says. "These projections show we are expected to keep growing and that's a good thing. There are many challenges that come with growth, but I would rather deal with those than the challenges of decline our province was facing just a few short years ago."
Wall also notes that when Statistics Canada issued its population projections in 2005, four of the six scenarios saw Saskatchewan actually losing population over the next 25 years. Even the most optimistic scenario at the time saw Saskatchewan growing to just 1,064,000 people by 2031. Today, there are more than 1,120,000 people living in the province.
"Saskatchewan has now grown by more than 120,000 people in just the past seven years. Today, the least optimistic projection shows stronger growth than the most optimistic one just a decade ago. Things have changed a lot in Saskatchewan."
And so they will continue to do so. Saskatchewan - a great place to call home.
