(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Troy Gillard and Josh Hall

Census says...

Lethbridge population surpasses Red Deer

Jun 24, 2019 | 3:23 PM

It was a neck and neck race, but Red Deer is no longer Alberta’s third largest city.

Results from the 2019 Municipal Census released Monday show Red Deer with a current population of 101,002.

Lethbridge also released census results on Monday. Their official population is now 101,482.

The last municipal census done in 2016 showed Red Deer with a population of 99,832, down from 100,807 a year earlier. The 2016 Federal Census showed Red Deer with 100,418 residents.

Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer is focusing on what she sees as the positive news from the latest head count.

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“Maintaining a population of over 100,000 is an indicator of a return to growth stability for our city after a net population loss in 2016,” she says.

“Over the last number of years, our local economy has been substantially impacted by the provincial recession, largely as a consequence of the decline in the energy sector, but as the third largest region in the province central on the QEII corridor, we continue to serve as central Alberta’s primary trade and service centre.”

Veer also says Lethbridge has an advantage right now in that it is a city which depends largely on agriculture and agri-food, a sector not hit as hard by the recession.

“If there was a year we expected to fall to fourth and Lethbridge take third, it probably was this year. Because we faced that population loss, there really was no point in having a municipal census the last couple of years. Now that we’re seeing a return to growth, it likely is financially beneficial to do it every year, however that will be subject to council’s operating budget debate.”

Veer adds that Red Deer’s population can also be expected to stabilize with the advent of Red Deer College becoming a full-fledged university.

The census ran from April 1 until May 30, 2019, with enumerators counting every household in Red Deer. The City will release a full census report, with detailed demographics, by the end of July.