Canada: Fort McMurray population down nearly 11 per cent since wildfire, census shows

Source(s): CBC/Radio-Canada

By David Thurton

Fort McMurray's first census since the devastating 2016 wildfire suggests the region's population dropped by nearly 11 per cent over a three-year span.

A census conducted in 2018 recorded an overall population of 111,687, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said Tuesday in a news release.

That total was down from 125,032 residents in 2015.

[...]

[Mayor Don Scott] said the 11-per-cent drop was expected given all the region has been through, including the oil price crash in 2014, the 2016 wildfire and now a shortage of pipeline capacity to carry oilsands bitumen to new markets.

[...]

As a consequence of the population decline, Scott expects a drop in grant funding from the Alberta government. He estimated the region gets about $200 for every person counted to help fund infrastructure and social programs.

[...]

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Hazards Wildfire
Country and region Canada
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