Calgary's Downtown Population

[Surrealplaces]

I was posting some stuff in the SSP Canada section and thought I'd post it here too. Some population stats regarding our downtown always makes for interesting discussion. It could easily be in the stascan thread, but wanted to make the discussion more open to downtown Calgary's growth and direction it's going.

Calgary's downtown as defined by Statscan.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Here's some growth numbers from 2016 to 2021. Calgary's done quite well over that stretch and given the number of units that have come online in the last three years, the trend stays the same.

The interesting thing is from 2016 to 2021 Statscan shows a population increase of 8,119 people, but the Beltline added 9,394 residential units in that same time. Maybe due to timing of completions, mixed with the timing of Covid?

 

[Disraeli]

Here's some growth numbers from 2016 to 2021. Calgary's done quite well over that stretch and given the number of units that have come online in the last three years, the trend stays the same.

The interesting thing is from 2016 to 2021 Statscan shows a population increase of 8,119 people, but the Beltline added 9,394 residential units in that same time. Maybe due to timing of completions, mixed with the timing of Covid?

I think there were quite a few big projects with move ins just after the 2021 censu. Telus Sky, West Village and both of the Arris towers come to mind. 2021 was also during COVID where a chunk of the university age demographic moved back home so I wonder how that effected the numbers. I'm guessing around 55000 for 2026, maybe even as high as 60000. I still don't love how the boundaries for downtown are drawn up. It doesn't make sense to exclude Cliff Bungalow, Mission and Sunalta.

 

[Beltline_B]

When it comes to highrise residential the numbers of built units don't always equate to population growth until a couple of years after when the buildings are fully occupied. Also as mentioned by Disraeli, covid was during that time and would have thrown the numbers out of whack.
We'll get a much better idea from the 2026 census, and my prediction is the downtown hitting ~55,000. Impressive for a downtown area that was was less than half that 20 years ago.

 

[Surrealplaces]

In the SSP post, I predicted the 2026 census would be 60K for Calgary's downtown. Seems we're all thinking around the same number!

 

[Chinook Arch]

I was posting some stuff in the SSP Canada section and thought I'd post it here too. Some population stats regarding our downtown always makes for interesting discussion. It could easily be in the stascan thread, but wanted to make the discussion more open to downtown Calgary's growth and direction it's going.

Calgary's downtown as defined by Statscan.

View attachment 655885

It’s strange that the boundaries include part of Mission but not all and yet includes the Stampede grounds and Fort Calgary. Outside of that, the boundary tracks fairly well. Are there any stats from the 2011 census or earlier?

Seeing as we’re making predictions, I’ll throw in my prediction, I’m going with 58K.

 

[AJX]

I’ll go with 65k.