Winnipeg, MB - A new report released by the City of Winnipeg indicates that the city’s population is expected to chart strong and steady increases over the next 25 years Mayor Brian Bowman announced today.
The 2016 City of Winnipeg Population, Housing, and Economic Forecast indicates that Winnipeg’s average annual population growth over the next 25 years is estimated to increase by 8,200 people per year, and that the City of Winnipeg’s Census Metropolitan Area population will exceed 1 million people by 2034/2035 and is projected to surpass 1,055,000 by 2040.
The City of Winnipeg, itself, is expected to grow from a population of approximately 718,400 to 922,600 by 2040, an increase of over 200,000 people, representing a 28 per cent increase.
“Winnipeg is growing, our capital region is growing, and this report underscores the extent to which steady and strong population growth is projected to continue,” said Mayor Brian Bowman.
“As a city, we need to be thinking about and planning today for a future we know is going to create increased demand on existing city infrastructure and services, as well as for new infrastructure and expanded services. It is not enough to only be building Winnipeg for today. We need to be building Winnipeg for the future.”
To support the strong and steady population increases that are projected to occur over the next 25 years, the Forecast indicates that demand for housing will also remain steady. From 2002 to 2015, the number of households in the City of Winnipeg increased from about 249,000 to approximately 291,900 representing a 17 per cent increase. Over the next 25 years, the number of households is expected to increase by approximately an additional 100,000 or 32 per cent, with housing starts expected to maintain an annual rate of approximately 4,000 units per year.
“This forecast demonstrates a strong correlation between population growth and the need for new housing,” said Mayor Bowman. “When our rate of population growth stagnated in the early 1980s, and then dipped into negative growth in 1997 and 1998, Winnipeg recorded its two lowest levels of annual housing starts in over 25 years. When a city’s population steadily grows, demand for new housing remains strong, and we need to be planning for this level of growth.”
In addition to containing population and housing data, the Forecast also indicates that the annual growth in Winnipeg’s real Gross Domestic Product will be maintained at about 2.1 per cent per year, and that employment and disposable income are both projected to remain steady and strong.
It also illustrates how immigration will continue to be the largest single contributor to population growth in Winnipeg, and underscores how immigration will continue to contribute to the diverse and multicultural fabric of Winnipeg. At the same time, interprovincial migration which has historically been a major source of population loss, is projected to improve and stabilize over the next 25 years.
“Winnipeg’s diversity will continue to grow,” said Mayor Bowman. “It is essential that as a community we welcome new people to our city, and recognize the strength they provide.”
The 2016 City of Winnipeg Population, Housing, and Economic Forecast is intended to guide and support the City of Winnipeg in its planning efforts. By providing a common basis and foundation for decision making, the Forecast can help identify economic and planning opportunities and challenges within the city. It also provides fundamental information and data on which the next review of OurWinnipeg, the City’s long term planning document, will be based. The next OurWinnipeg review is scheduled to begin this fall.
The Forecast relies on data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and The Conference Board of Canada, which is widely considered the foremost independent, evidence-based applied research organization in the country.
The 2016 City of Winnipeg Population, Housing, and Economic Forecast can be found on the City of Winnipeg’s website: CoW-Population-Housing-and-Economic-Forecast.pdf