Table 3
Population change by type of region, Canada, provinces and territories, 1981 to 2006

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      Predominantly rural regions  
Predominantly urban regions Intermediate regions All predominantly rural regions  Rural metro-adjacent regions Rural non-metro-adjacent regions Rural northern regions All types of regions
percent change
Newfoundland and Labrador 1981 to 1986 ... 2.8 -2.0 ... -1.5 -4.2 0.0
1986 to 1991 ... 2.9 -2.2 ... -2.9 1.2 0.0
1991 to 1996 ... -0.6 -4.9 ... -4.6 -6.1 -3.0
1996 to 2001 ... -3.4 -10.2 ... -10.7 -8.0 -7.1
2001 to 2006 ... 2.4 -4.9 ... -4.4 -7.3 -1.5
Prince Edward Island 1981 to 1986 ... ... 3.2 4.7 1.7 ... 3.2
1986 to 1991 ... ... 2.4 5.8 -1.0 ... 2.4
1991 to 1996 ... ... 3.7 5.0 2.3 ... 3.7
1996 to 2001 ... ... 0.4 1.5 -0.8 ... 0.4
2001 to 2006 ... ... 0.6 1.8 -0.7 ... 0.6
Nova Scotia 1981 to 1986 ... 6.1 1.3 0.9 1.7 ... 2.9
1986 to 1991 ... 8.1 0.4 0.4 0.5 ... 3.1
1991 to 1996 ... 3.7 -0.6 0.0 -1.1 ... 1.0
1996 to 2001 ... 4.6 -3.2 -3.3 -3.2 ... -0.3
2001 to 2006 ... 3.8 -1.5 -1.2 -1.8 ... 0.6
New Brunswick 1981 to 1986 -4.0 3.9 2.4 4.7 0.3 ... 1.8
1986 to 1991 -1.3 6.7 1.9 4.3 -0.4 ... 2.1
1991 to 1996 -2.6 4.2 2.1 4.0 0.2 ... 1.8
1996 to 2001 -3.5 1.4 -1.5 1.1 -4.3 ... -1.4
2001 to 2006 -2.7 4.3 -0.3 3.2 -4.3 ... 0.0
Quebec 1981 to 1986 2.2 2.6 -1.3 0.5 -2.6 -2.3 1.3
1986 to 1991 6.9 6.7 1.4 4.8 -0.9 -1.1 5.5
1991 to 1996 3.3 4.3 3.2 5.6 1.5 2.2 3.5
1996 to 2001 2.3 1.0 -1.5 1.1 -3.5 -1.9 1.1
2001 to 2006 4.6 5.4 2.9 5.7 0.9 -0.3 4.3
Ontario 1981 to 1986 6.3 6.9 1.6 3.1 0.3 -6.4 5.5
1986 to 1991 9.6 13.7 10.3 11.6 8.4 4.1 10.8
1991 to 1996 6.9 6.9 5.6 6.8 3.0 2.7 6.7
1996 to 2001 6.9 7.0 2.4 4.3 -0.9 -6.2 6.0
2001 to 2006 6.2 8.9 4.4 5.4 2.7 -0.2 6.6
Manitoba 1981 to 1986 5.2 ... 1.5 5.1 -2.7 5.6 3.5
1986 to 1991 3.9 ... 1.6 6.2 -1.7 -0.7 2.9
1991 to 1996 0.5 ... 3.8 5.3 1.6 6.5 1.9
1996 to 2001 -0.2 ... 0.9 4.6 -1.6 -2.6 0.3
2001 to 2006 2.5 ... 2.9 5.8 -0.1 2.5 2.7
Saskatchewan 1981 to 1986 ... 9.5 0.6 1.4 -0.1 0.1 4.2
1986 to 1991 ... 2.9 -5.8 -4.8 -7.6 4.9 -2.1
1991 to 1996 ... 2.0 -1.5 -1.5 -3.2 16.4 0.1
1996 to 2001 ... 0.7 -3.1 -2.2 -4.6 2.8 -1.4
2001 to 2006 ... 1.9 -3.5 -2.8 -5.3 6.1 -1.0
Alberta 1981 to 1986 6.5 ... 4.4 3.6 4.9 12.8 5.7
1986 to 1991 10.4 ... 2.6 3.9 0.4 0.2 7.6
1991 to 1996 5.9 ... 6.1 6.7 6.1 -3.1 6.0
1996 to 2001 12.0 ... 6.7 7.8 3.0 17.6 10.2
2001 to 2006 12.2 ... 7.8 7.7 5.5 23.6 10.7
British Columbia 1981 to 1986 8.4 ... 0.8 0.9 1.5 -4.3 5.0
1986 to 1991 15.8 ... 11.5 14.3 11.0 3.8 14.0
1991 to 1996 13.2 ... 14.2 16.6 14.0 5.3 13.6
1996 to 2001 7.6 ... 1.2 2.4 1.3 -5.9 4.9
2001 to 2006 6.5 ... 3.5 5.5 3.5 -6.6 5.3
Yukon 1981 to 1986 ... ... 1.2 ... ... 1.2 1.2
1986 to 1991 ... ... 18.4 ... ... 18.4 18.4
1991 to 1996 ... ... 10.8 ... ... 10.8 10.8
1996 to 2001 ... ... -7.0 ... ... -7.0 -7.0
2001 to 2006 ... ... 5.9 ... ... 5.9 5.9
Northwest Territories1 and Nunavut 1981 to 1986 ... ... 14.3 ... ... 14.3 14.3
1986 to 1991 ... ... 10.4 ... ... 10.4 10.4
1991 to 1996 ... ... 11.6 ... ... 11.6 11.6
1996 to 2001 ... ... -0.5 ... ... -0.5 -0.5
2001 to 2006 ... ... 10.4 ... ... 10.4 10.4
Canada 1981 to 1986 5.2 5.6 1.1 2.4 -0.1 -0.7 3.9
1986 to 1991 9.4 9.8 4.5 7.0 2.0 3.5 7.9
1991 to 1996 6.3 5.2 4.7 6.5 3.6 -0.9 5.6
1996 to 2001 6.0 4.2 0.7 3.0 -2.0 1.9 4.0
2001 to 2006 6.4 6.8 2.9 4.8 0.7 1.8 5.4
1. Care should be exercised in comparing the Northwest Territories 2006 Census population counts with counts from the 2001 Census. In 2001, the net undercount for the overall Northwest Territories population was estimated at 8.11%, substantially higher than the national level of 2.99%, and almost double its 1996 level. The increase in the overall population between 2001 and 2006 is likely overstated due to improvements in coverage of the Northwest Territories in 2006.
Note: This chart uses the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regional typology. As a result, the data are tabulated within constant 1996 boundaries and apply to the non-institutional population only.
Source: Statistic Canada. Census of Population, 1981 to 2006.
Table source: Statistics Canada, 2008, "Structure and Change in Canada's Rural Demography: An Update to 2006", Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin, Volume 7, number 7, catalogue number 21-006-X.