Demographics of Alberta

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Alberta's population has grown steadily for over a century

The province of Alberta has enjoyed a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, due in large part to its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province saw high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration when compared to other provinces.^[1] As of late 2005, the population of the province was 3,306,359 (Albertans). 81% of this population lives in urban areas and 19% is rural. The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and one of the densest in Canada. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have also experienced very high rates of growth in recent history.

1 Population of Alberta since 1901
2 Ethnic origins
3 Languages
4 Religion
5 Largest municipalities and metro areas by population
6 See also
7 References

[edit] Population of Alberta since 1901

Year	Population	Five Year % change	Ten Year % change	Percentage of Canadian Pop.	Rank Among Provinces
1901	73,022	n/a	n/a	1.4	9
1911	374,295	n/a	412.6	5.2	7
1921	588,454	n/a	57.2	6.7	5
1931	731,605	n/a	24.3	7.0	4
1941	796,169	n/a	8.8	6.9	5
1951	939,501	n/a	18.0	6.7	4
1956	1,123,116	19.5	n/a	n/a	4
1961	1,331,944	18.6	41.8	7.3	4
1966	1,463,203	9.9	30.3	n/a	4
1971	1,627,874	11.3	22.2	7.5	4
1976	1,838,035	12.9	25.6	n/a	4
1981	2,237,724	21.7	37.5	9.2	4
1986	2,365,825	5.7	28.7	9.3	4
1991	2,545,553	7.6	13.8	9.3	4
1996	2,696,826	5.9	14.0	9.3	4
2001	2,974,807	10.3	16.9	9.9	4
2006*	3,375,763	13.5	25.2	10.3	4

*Preliminary 2006 census estimate.

Source: Statistics Canada^[2]^[3]

[edit] Ethnic origins

Ethnic Origin	Population	Percent
Canadian	813,485	27.66%
English	753,190	25.61%
German	576,350	19.60%
Scottish	556,575	18.92%
Irish	461,065	15.68%
French	332,675	11.31%
Ukrainian	285,725	9.71%
Dutch (Netherlands)	149,225	5.07%
North American Indian	144,040	4.90%
Polish	137,625	4.68%
Norwegian	120,045	4.08%
Chinese	108,050	3.67%
Swedish	78,565	2.67%
Italian	67,655	2.30%
Métis	63,620	2.16%
Russian	62,750	2.13%
East Indian	61,180	2.08%
Welsh	59,470	2.02%
Danish	50,465	1.72%
American (USA)	49,875	1.70%
Hungarian (Magyar)	41,535	1.41%
Filipino	36,235	1.23%

The information regarding ethnicities at the left is from the 2001 Canadian Census.^[2] The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 30,000 responses are included.

[edit] Languages

Population by mother tongue (2001 Census)^[4]:

	Canada	Alberta
Total Population	29,639,035	2,941,150
Single responses	29,257,885	2,907,380
English	17,352,315	2,379,515
French	6,703,325	58,645
Non-official languages	5,202,245	469,220
Chinese	853,745	78,205
- Cantonese	322,315	26,255
- Mandarin	101,790	5,580
- Hakka	4,565	570
- Chinese, n.o.s.	425,085	45,795
Italian	469,485	13,935
German	438,080	78,040
Polish	208,375	20,635
Spanish	245,495	19,820
Portuguese	213,815	6,110
Punjabi	271,220	22,535
Ukrainian	148,085	33,970
Arabic	199,940	15,390
Dutch	128,670	19,575
Tagalog (Pilipino)	174,060	11,705
Greek	120,360	2,770
Vietnamese	122,055	16,680
Cree	72,885	15,105
Inuktitut	29,010	95
Other non-official languages	1,506,965	107,635
Multiple responses	381,145	33,770
English and French	112,575	5,780
English and non-official language	219,860	26,420
French and non-official language	38,630	1,090
English, French and non-official language	10,085	475

[edit] Religion

Religion	Population	Percent
Christian	2,099,435	71.4%
Protestant	1,145,460	38.9%
United Church	396,065	13.5%
Anglican	172,430	5.9%
Lutheran	142,530	4.8%
Baptist	73,640	2.5%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)	71,205	2.1%
Pentecostal	42,615	1.4%
Presbyterian	29,200	1.0%
Other Protestant	238,400	8.1%
Catholic	786,360	26.7%
Roman Catholic	756,005	25.7%
Ukrainian Catholic	28,750	1.0%
Other Catholic	1,605	0.1%
Christian Orthodox	44,475	1.5%
Other Christian	123,140	4.2%
Muslim	49,040	1.7%
Buddhist	33,410	1.1%
Other Religions	64,425	2.2%
No Religion	694,840	23.6%

Most Albertans identify as Christians. Nevertheless, many people in the province observe other faiths or do not profess to a religion at all. Alberta has a somewhat higher percentage of evangelical Christians than do other provinces. Conversely, Alberta also has the highest percentage of residents identifying with no religion in Canada. 44% of Albertans did not attend church last year.

The Mormons of Alberta reside primarily in the extreme south of the province. There are temples in both Cardston and Edmonton. Many Albertan Mormons descend from Mormon pioneers who emigrated from Utah around the turn of the 20th century. Alberta also has a large Hutterite population, a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites, and a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists in and around the Lacombe area due to the presence of the Canadian University College. Alberta is also home to several Eastern Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immmigrantion, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Diocese of Edmonton and Western Canada.

Many people of the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim faiths also make Alberta their home; one of the largest Sikh temples in Canada is located just outside of Edmonton. North America's oldest mosque is located in Edmonton.

Most of Alberta's 13,000-some Jews live in Calgary (7,500) and Edmonton (5,000).^[5]

[edit] Largest municipalities and metro areas by population

Major municipalities of Alberta.

Municipality	2006	2001	1996
Census Metropolitan Areas
Calgary CMA	1,060,300**	951,395	821,628
Edmonton CMA	1,016,000**	937,845	862,597
Cities (10 Largest)
Calgary	991,759	878,866	768,082
Edmonton	712,391*	666,104	616,306
Red Deer	82,971	67,707	60,080
Lethbridge	78,713	67,374	63,053
St. Albert (included in Edmonton CMA)	56,318*	53,081	46,888
Medicine Hat	56,048*	51,249	46,783
Grande Prairie	44,631*	36,983	31,353
Airdrie (included in Calgary CMA)	29,035	20,382	15,946
Spruce Grove (included in Edmonton CMA)	18,405*	15,983	14,271
Camrose	15,850*	14,854	13,728
Districts (3 Largest)
Strathcona County (included in Edmonton CMA)	80,232*	71,986	64,176
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo	79,810	41,466	35,213
Municipality of Rocky View (included in Calgary CMA)	30,688*	28,441	23,326

Sources: All 2006 figures are based on official 2006 census data from municipalities. Where no 2006 data is available, (*) indicates the most recent official data from either the municipality in 2005 or the 2001 Statistics Canada federal census. All data for 2001 and 1996 is from the respective federal census.

(**) indicates 2005 CMA estimates according to Statistics Canada^[6]

[edit] See also

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

[edit] References

^ StatCan - Alberta population
^ ^a ^b Population of Alberta - Statistics Canada
^ Canada's population. Statistics Canada. Last accessed September 28, 2006.
^ Statistics Canada (January 2005). Population by mother tongue, by province and territory (2001 Census). Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
^ AM Yisrael - The Jewish Communities of Canada
^ Statistics Canada - Population of Census Metropolitan Areas

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