Canadian 2011 Census numbers

[babybackribs2314]

Funny that Washington-Baltimore and Toronto-Hamilton are almost the exact same size (Washington's 2010 MSA had 5.6 million, same as Toronto's this year, while both 'greater' regions having 8.7 million). The differences in terms of skyline are quite stark.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by memph

Actually Ajax (and Pickering) are officially considered part of Toronto's CMA. Oshawa's CMA is Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington (mostly the communities of Bowmanville, Courtice, Newcastle and Darlington).

Thanks for the clarification, memph. Heck, I wasn't really too far off, at least!

Also, to babybackribs, can we please not devolve this thread into a skylines issue?

Aaron (Glowrock)

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

This explains why Downtown Toronto seems so crowded and bustling. Thank god people are moving downtown, the stress on the subways and transit should be alleviated because of this.

Actually the numbers for downtown Toronto just put it slightly over its peak population which I think peaked in the 60's or 70's, if I remember correctly from the report on downtown Toronto done for the city a few years ago.

[OhioGuy]

Vancouver faces mild population growth while Tri-Cities and Surrey boom

Metro Vancouver continues to lure new migrants and suck residents from B.C’s rural towns, but it appears most people are skipping Vancouver in favour of settling in the Tri-Cities or neighbourhoods south of the Fraser.

Port Moody, Coquitlam and Surrey were the fastest-growing communities in the 2011 Census, with some neighbourhoods in those cities doubling or tripling their population between 2006 and 2011, according to data released Wednesday.

Port Moody experienced 19.9-per-cent growth during this five-year period, followed by Surrey with 18.6 per cent. Vancouver’s growth rate, meanwhile, sat at 4.4 per cent, with population increases concentrated in its downtown core, Mount Pleasant and Fairview.

While growth was more vigorous than expected in the Tri-Cities, it is consistent with the regional growth strategy, which calls for development to be centred along transit corridors and town centres.

The Tri-Cities also took a hefty chunk of the growth in Port Moody and Coquitlam Town Centre, where the land was already zoned and ready, based on a promise that it would receive the Evergreen Line. Port Moody’s 19.9-per-cent growth took place despite a no-growth policy implemented in 2009.

“When we were saying zero to minimal growth we were still taking all these people from previous developments that had already been approved,” said Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay. “It was part of the plan. The part that was missing was the rapid transit line.”

A similar phenomenon was seen in the mid-1990s when Richmond experienced huge growth while expecting the Canada line. This growth slowed near 2000 but picked up again once the line finally went ahead, bringing an economic boom for the city, said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

Richmond, which saw an 9.2-per-cent increase in population from 2006-2011, has one of the highest jobs-to-worker ratios, with one-and-a-half jobs for every worker, Brodie said, as well as diverse industries and an educated workforce.

[dennis1]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Its all based on commuter percentages. If enough people don't commute into the core city, they are not considered part of the metro region. Which explains why Oshawa is not part of Toronto's metro region, but is part of the GTA.

Toronto's inner city population is now approaching the 1 million mark, with about 990,000 residents in about 54.6 sq miles. Not bad
That includes the old Toronto, East York, and York.

Really Mike? Everyone from Oshawa that I know of works in Toronto. Oshawa, you either are at the GM plant or in Downtown.

[flar]

^^I think you are really overestimating the number of people who commute into Toronto. There are many major employment centres throughout the GTA.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Actually the numbers for downtown Toronto just put it slightly over its peak population which I think peaked in the 60's or 70's, If i remember correctly from the report on downtown Toronto done for the city a few years ago.

I consider this to be downtown:



Was it really at 175,000 back in the 60s? Another 10 years of growth like the last 5 years, and this area would pass 300,000 people. We'd have nice busy streets by then. I'm also surprised how many more people live in downtown Toronto vs downtown Vancouver. Are they comparable in area?

Originally Posted by J. Will

Downtown Vancouver had 99,233 people in 2011:

[Chicago103]

Originally Posted by J. Will

City, 2011 population (2006 population), % growth

Toronto, 2,615,060 (2,503,281), 4.5

So the city of Toronto is only 80,538 less than the population of the city of Chicago and Toronto's land area is only slightly bigger, that translates to Toronto only having about 1,000 less people per square mile than Chicago. That is pretty impressive given how suburban parts of the greater city of Toronto are, of course there are more highrises in the suburban areas of Toronto than bungalow belts of Chicago.

[miketoronto]

That translates basically into what the city considers downtown as well.

Yep downtown Toronto's population has always been high.
Downtown living is hardly a new thing for Toronto.
We had busy streets and continue to have them regardless of residents. Because it is not the residents that animate most of downtown. It is the 900,000 people who come into the downtown core each day who do.

Originally Posted by isaidso

I consider this to be downtown:


Was it really at 175,000 back in the 60s? Another 10 years of growth like the last 5 years, and this area would pass 300,000 people. We'd have nice busy streets by then. I'm also surprised how many more people live in downtown Toronto vs downtown Vancouver. Are they comparable in area?

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by dennis1

Really Mike? Everyone from Oshawa that I know of works in Toronto. Oshawa, you either are at the GM plant or in Downtown.

It is not as many as you may think. Oshawa really is the "core" city of the east. I have family who live out in Clarington, and Oshawa is like the "big city" for them. A day out is going to Oshawa, not Toronto.
So I can understand why the areas are considered separate.
We may be connected by seamless development. But at the end of the day, the residents do not interact as one city.

Just like Toronto and Hamilton. Seamless development. But a very small number of Hamilton people go into Toronto on a daily basis. And even fewer Toronto people have ever been to Hamilton.

It would be interesting to see how things would unfold though with the continued suburbanization of jobs. What if we hit a point where so few suburbanites commute into the core city, that they themselves fall below the % of commuters needed to make a town part of a metro area.
Could we lose metro areas?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I consider this to be downtown:



Was it really at 175,000 back in the 60s? Another 10 years of growth like the last 5 years, and this area would pass 300,000 people. We'd have nice busy streets by then. I'm also surprised how many more people live in downtown Toronto vs downtown Vancouver. Are they comparable in area?

No the area show above is much larger than downtown Vancouver.

DT Toronto is about 3.4km x 3.4km or about 11.5 sqkm

DT Vancouver is about 3km x 1.8km at its widest, and since it is oval in shape would be smaller than the implied 5.4 sqkm

[dennis1]

Originally Posted by flar

^^I think you are really overestimating the number of people who commute into Toronto. There are many major employment centres throughout the GTA.

I probably am. I though less people from Oakville worked in the core then Oshawa but I guess I am wrong.

Originally Posted by miketoronto

It is not as many as you may think. Oshawa really is the "core" city of the east. I have family who live out in Clarington, and Oshawa is like the "big city" for them. A day out is going to Oshawa, not Toronto.
So I can understand why the areas are considered separate.
We may be connected by seamless development. But at the end of the day, the residents do not interact as one city.

Just like Toronto and Hamilton. Seamless development. But a very small number of Hamilton people go into Toronto on a daily basis. And even fewer Toronto people have ever been to Hamilton.

It would be interesting to see how things would unfold though with the continued suburbanization of jobs. What if we hit a point where so few suburbanites commute into the core city, that they themselves fall below the % of commuters needed to make a town part of a metro area.
Could we lose metro areas?

Clarington... I know people from there that work in Toronto as well. But your point is taken. The Suburbanization of jobs is a two headed shark. On one part, less time driving = less polution, otherwise More mcmansions because you have to build around employment centers.

[niwell]

It's very impressive that the City of Toronto grew by over 110,000. And likely more than that once undercount is corrected for. That's virtually all through intensification.

[memph]

Downtown Vancouver (the peninsula) is about 3.75 square miles.

It grew considerably less than downtown Toronto though, from 87,973 people in 2006 to 99,233 people in 2011, or an increase of 12.8%. Some parts of the West Side actually decreased in population. Still a decent increase overall though.

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by dennis1

I probably am. I though less people from Oakville worked in the core then Oshawa but I guess I am wrong.

Actually Oakville would have more commuters to Toronto, as Oakville residents are the type that would work at King & Bay.

In fact if you look up Oakville, they have one of the highest transit usage rates for work trips in the 905, with 20% of commuters using transit. That actually may be the highest in the 905, and it stems from so many of them working in downtown Toronto and taking GO Transit.

Oshawa residents I would say tend to commute more to Scarborough if they are coming into Toronto. They are more of the blue collar industrial type.

But still the majority work out in the Oshawa area.

[J. Will]

Mississauga now has about the same population as Detroit city (713,000). And Mississauga is only 111 square miles. Detroit is 139 square miles.

[dennis1]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Actually Oakville would have more commuters to Toronto, as Oakville residents are the type that would work at King & Bay.

In fact if you look up Oakville, they have one of the highest transit usage rates for work trips in the 905, with 20% of commuters using transit. That actually may be the highest in the 905, and it stems from so many of them working in downtown Toronto and taking GO Transit.

Oshawa residents I would say tend to commute more to Scarborough if they are coming into Toronto. They are more of the blue collar industrial type.

But still the majority work out in the Oshawa area.

Of course. Oakville is richy rich and Oshawa is a factory town.