RMs optimistic about population growth

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This article was published 09/02/2022 (1587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some rural reeves are optimistic after their municipalities saw population growth much higher than the province overall.

Several Westman rural municipalities saw double-digit population growth between 2016 and 2021, bucking a trend of population consolidating in urban centres. Manitoba as a whole saw five per cent population growth.

The Rural Municipality of Oakview’s population grew by 18.6 per cent, from 1,626 to 1,928 people — the highest among rural municipalities in the region. Reeve Brent Fortune said he believes the municipality, which includes Rapid City and Cardale, is becoming a bedroom community for Brandon.

The increase in population could also be due to housing costs in the Wheat City and the draw of a rural area close to a more urban centre, he said.

The Municipality of Clanwilliam-Erickson also saw a significant jump in population, from 860 people in 2016 to 1,012 in 2021 — a 17.7 per cent boost. While the 152 person increase might not be as big as other areas, Head of Council Victor Baraniuk said developments around Ditch Lake and Otter Lake have filled up with residents.

“It’s always great to see more people in the area and especially young people. If you don’t have that, the community certainly starts to go downhill … I’m quite pleased to see,” he said.

The municipality is south of Riding Mountain National Park, which Baraniuk said he believes is attracting people to put down permanent roots. The small towns in the area are also drawing in people who wanted to leave larger centres during the pandemic.

The jump in population has come with new businesses, he said, including a new clinic in Erickson.

“We’re hoping we can hang onto all the businesses there and add more even … We’re always trying to attract industry to the area, we’re trying to attract new people,” Baraniuk said.

Immediately south of Riding Mountain National Park in the RM of Harrison Park, Reeve Jason Potter said he has seen a similar pattern of people wanting to live close to the tourism destination. The municipality, which includes Onanole, saw 14.5 per cent growth, from 1,617 to 1,852 people.

“I think people come up here on holidays and then they really like what they see and then they choose to either relocate their families or else retire up here,” he said.

Looking into the future, Potter said he’s hopeful the rapid growth continues.

“We are next-door neighbours with the national park. I think people really enjoy that aspect of it. I think people want to bring that into their day-to-day lives, and I’m really hopeful that growth will continue at the pace.”

With rapid growth comes challenges in keeping up with municipal infrastructure. Potter said the municipality has done an “OK job over the last four years” of adding to infrastructure, but more investment is needed.

“That’s something we are almost playing catch-up with. We really need to sit down and focus on the different areas of the municipality that are growing rapidly.”

The municipality is also looking at upgrading the Onanole fire hall and expanding water and sewer lines further.

In the Municipality of Clanwilliam-Erickson, Baraniuk said the local government is also trying to keep up with infrastructure needs for its growing population.

“We have 250 miles of road roughly in the RM we have to maintain. We’ve got bridges that are in need of some repair. That’s very important to keep that infrastructure up as well and keep the road maintenance up,” he said

“[We are] trying to keep our population in the rural [areas] up too as well — keep the farm families in the area on the land, to me is quite important.”

Minnedosa also saw significant population growth of 11.9 per cent, from 2,449 to 2,741. The Municipality of Russell-Binscarth grew 6.3 per cent from 2,442 to 2,596.

Not all Westman municipalities saw significant growth over the last five years, though. In McCreary, east of Riding Mountain National Park, the population dropped 16.1 per cent, from 892 to 748 people.

When reached Wednesday afternoon, Head of Council Mike Gawaziuk said he hadn’t had a chance to look at the census results yet but said people seemed to be moving to urban areas for work.

The RM of Wallace-Woodworth, which surrounds Virden and Elkhorn, dropped 6.8 per cent, from 2,948 to 2,748.

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