Winnipeg CMA in 5 years (2026)

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by drew

I you think about it, it's a wonder that Halifax has remained so comparatively small population wise, especially compared to a city like Winnipeg.

The fishing and mining industries did the province in 40 years ago, just like most of Atlantic Canada.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

I was just thinking about that poll that started this thread. I remember picking 905,000+. Seems very likely that we will will hit that now.

[harls]

One million by 2026 doesn't seem too far fetched to me.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by harls

One million by 2026 doesn't seem too far fetched to me.

I will wish for that too but Likely CMA will be more like 925,00 - 940,000
Hopefully 1 mill next census 2031 but...I am all for huge growth here. Bring it on

[Luisito]

I'm just going to start saying we have a million now.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Luisito

I'm just going to start saying we have a million now.

YES! Think like a million-person city, become a million-person city.

[thurmas]

Really seeing the strains in Winnipeg of the additional population growth this decade and the lack of proper infrastructure done to grow along side it. This 1970s infrastructure meant for a city of 580 k not 900k is more apparent every day.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Really seeing the strains in Winnipeg of the additional population growth this decade and the lack of proper infrastructure done to grow along side it. This 1970s infrastructure meant for a city of 580 k not 900k is more apparent every day.

Totally, but then when major roadways are proposed the nimby's and clueless granola munchers scream more bike paths forgetting that Winnipeg is covered in snow and ice for seven months of the year!

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by harls

One million by 2026 doesn't seem too far fetched to me.

The CMA was 871,800 in 2022. To get to one million by 2026, population needs to grow by 128,200 over the next 4 years. Or about 32,000 people per year. That's about triple the regular growth rate, and roughly double the CMA's population growth record of 16,400 that was observed from 2016 to 2017. The CMA is more-or-less expected to hit 1 million around 2033, and the city itself hit 1 million around 2046.

[Biff]

I don't find that the City Proper population means that much as a barometer for how large a city truly is anyways. Winnipeg has never really had much of a Metro region until recently.

Already Winnipeg is larger than Vancouver - 662,248 (2021) and Minneapolis - 429,954 (2020). No one would every see it that way though.

[BlackDog204]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger

The CMA was 871,800 in 2022. To get to one million by 2026, population needs to grow by 128,200 over the next 4 years. Or about 32,000 people per year. That's about triple the regular growth rate, and roughly double the CMA's population growth record of 16,400 that was observed from 2016 to 2017. The CMA is more-or-less expected to hit 1 million around 2033, and the city itself hit 1 million around 2046.

The population of the CMA in Winnipeg will be around 895,000. We just have to look at the last 2 quarters of 2022, when Canada gained nearly 650,000 people. I don't think Canada's population rose that much in 12 months between July 2021 and July 2022.

Winnipeg most likely is going to grow by 20,000+ people by July 2023. Obviously bringing in 1,000,000+ immigrants is unsustainable. However, when the dust settles, I can see Winnipeg growing by close to 15,000/year for the remainder of the decade.

In theory, that should put us very close to one million people by 2030.

[esquire]

We're close enough now that when someone from out of town asks me how big Winnipeg is, I'll just round up to a million

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by pspeid

YES! Think like a million-person city, become a million-person city.

Exactly. lol

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by pspeid

YES! Think like a million-person city, become a million-person city.

Does that mean we get the transportation network to match too?

[Hecate]

Yeah I don’t understand why people think a million people is such a good thing, or why it’s something to cheer for? Will we get a Fendi store or something? Like what’s the benefit? More traffic, more noise, more pollution, more lights erasing the stars at night, crowded beaches and parks, more sprawl, more habitat lost for insects and birds and animals, there is literally nothing good about exponential population growth on our little planet.

[Biff]

^^^Because we choose to live in a city. This city is too large in area for the population it currently has. If we can increase our tax base within city limits we can generate more money to improve the infrastructure and services we have. If one doesn't want to live with the things that come with an expanded population (good or bad) there should be no issue with finding a quieter, slower pace place to live. Canada is a huge country.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by Biff

^^^Because we choose to live in a city. This city is too large in area for the population it currently has. If we can increase our tax base within city limits we can generate more money to improve the infrastructure and services we have. If one doesn't want to live with the things that come with an expanded population (good or bad) there should be no issue with finding a quieter, slower pace place to live. Canada is a huge country.

So what you’re saying is you could always CHOOSE to move to a bigger city. Yes Canada is huge. So why is all the population going to like ten centres. I’d rather see Brandon at 100,000 than Winnipeg at a million. And look at how Winnipeg has grown. 200,000 in the last twenty years… how has that increase in tax base helped our infrastructure? And the size of the city shrunk during this time period too. Remember when headingly was part of Winnipeg? So if what you say is true about increasing tax base, why are our roads shittier than they’ve ever been.

[zalf]

Originally Posted by Hecate

So what you’re saying is you could always CHOOSE to move to a bigger city. Yes Canada is huge. So why is all the population going to like ten centres. I’d rather see Brandon at 100,000 than Winnipeg at a million. And look at how Winnipeg has grown. 200,000 in the last twenty years… how has that increase in tax base helped our infrastructure? And the size of the city shrunk during this time period too. Remember when headingly was part of Winnipeg? So if what you say is true about increasing tax base, why are our roads shittier than they’ve ever been.

Both these can be true at the same time:

• Adding population increases the ability to pay for a good city
• If not properly managed, infrastructure costs can grow faster than the population's ability to pay for it

I do think there's a slowly, slowly growing realization amongst the general populace - not just the sort that frequent urban development forums - that sprawl is bad and the urban environment matters.

[harls]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Yeah I don’t understand why people think a million people is such a good thing, or why it’s something to cheer for? Will we get a Fendi store or something? Like what’s the benefit? More traffic, more noise, more pollution, more lights erasing the stars at night, crowded beaches and parks, more sprawl, more habitat lost for insects and birds and animals, there is literally nothing good about exponential population growth on our little planet.

It's a psychological thing. When the city of Ottawa hit one million, it was apparently a big deal. Same thing will happen with Winnipeg.

[esquire]

I do agree with Hecate's point. Canada is probably concentrating too much growth into too few cities. Although I do realize that population growth tends to follow economic opportunity... I'm not sure what all the people there would do if Thunder Bay suddenly jumped up to 500,000, for example.

Winnipeg is a bit of an exceptional situation because for a while, especially in the 90s, it felt like Winnipeg was going to start withering away. So breaking the 1,000,000 mark will be a validation of sorts, kind of like when the NHL returned. But that said, I think the focus should be more on improving a) quality of life b) economic prosperity and c) overall infrastructure to support the first two, rather than just chasing population growth for its own sake. There are a lot of new Winnipeggers from foreign countries and northern reserves living relatively basic existences, and it would be nice to see a renewed focus on improving things for people at the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder.