Statistics Canada has revised the 2021 Census population and dwelling counts for the Town of Altona.
Council filed a dispute when the initial data was released last year and pegged the town's five-year growth at a mere 1.31%, and a population of 4,267 - an increase of only 55 people over five years.
"Looking at the growth in the housing sector and across the community from 2016 to 2021, those numbers didn't line up with expectations and what we were seeing as far as growth," explained Mayor Harv Schroeder.
Statistics Canada launched a formal review shortly after.
In an update sent to the Town's administration and Council, Statistics Canada explained the investigation involved a review of maps, enumeration records and census data in order to verify boundaries and ensure that all population and dwellings were correctly enumerated and allocated within those boundaries. The addresses of the completed 2021 Census questionnaires were validated and the unoccupied dwellings were reviewed to ensure that the correct follow-up actions were taken to confirm their status. A list of multi-unit residential dwellings submitted by the Town was also used to compare against census data.
Ultimately, the review found that 10 private dwellings and 1 collective dwelling, with a total of 116 usual residents, were missed by enumerators in the 2021 census. An additional 7 people are estimated to reside in 3 private dwellings that were misclassified as unoccupied. As a result, Altona's population has been upped to 4,390 people, reflecting a 4.23% five-year growth.
"This is more in line with what was expected," added Schroeder.
Meantime, Statistics Canada says Altona's response rate to the 2021 census was 98.8%.