Tri-cities 2011 Census Context
My interest in the 2011 Canada Census is based on there often being context for my clients in the hyper-local Tri-cities real estate market in which I practice my profession. 
The Census is a statistical snapshot in time that allows me some personal abstractions (and liberties) for comparison. It was no surprise to see that in 2011 the population for BC had grown 7% from the 2006 Census and was over 4.4 million, and this trend will continue based on the net migration projected well into the future.
When I first started delving into the local demography I was on the Economic Development Committee for Port Moody, and I was using stats from the 2001 Census. What I was most amazed to discover from that exercise was the fact that Port Moody had such a low +65 population.
The 2011 census reports Port Moody remains low with 9.1% of the population +65 compared to Metro Vancouver at 13.5% (about the same for Vancouver and Richmond), and 15.7% for the Province. Coquitlam has a 10.4 % +65 population, and Port Coquitlam 10.1%. On this +65 population scale I found a few extremes with, White Rock at 29.4% (which should help defend some stereotype casting), and Whistler at 5%.
A significant observation for me from this latest Census is what had been reported for population density per square kilometer, and for the province that number is 4.8. Vancouver has a population density per square foot of a staggering 5249.1 people, and for Metro its 802.5.
In the Tri-cities the population density of Port Coquitlam leads with 1931.3 people per square kilometer, Port Moody is at 1273.8, and Coquitlam at 1034. Perhaps this density should help Port Coquitlam make a case for future transit improvements.
Interestingly, with the large-scale development underway in Burke Mountain, and in the Burquitlam area of Coquitlam, the 2016 Census could possibly leave Port Moody with the lowest population density of the Tri-cities.
To make use of the Census and the way it groups in 5 year age increments, in some cases I made a few generalizations and (re)defined a Baby Boomer as anyone in 2011 between the age of 46 and 64, and close enough for my purposes.
On this basis, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam both have a slightly larger population of Boomers, at 30.3% and 30.4% respectively, compared to Metro at 29%, Port Moody at 28.7%, and Vancouver at 27.9%.
In 2011 the less than 15 age population is lowest in the Tri-cities in Coquitlam at 16.4%, followed by Port Coquitlam at 17.4%, and Port Moody is the highest at 18.5%. While I don’t believe this provides any clues to fertility, it does seem to make sense of a higher Generation X population in Port Moody at 24.9%.
Again for simplicity I interpreted as close as I could the 2011 Census increments for ages 30 to 44 to represent Gen X. In Port Coquitlam the Gen X is 21.7% and in Coquitlam 20.6%.
The cohort following Gen X is Gen Y, also known as the Millennials, and I used the 2011 Census age range of 15 to 29 to be representative for my purposes.
Metro has a Millennial population of 20.5%, with Coquitlam at 20.7%, Port Coquitlam 20.4% and Port Moody 18.7%.
Here’s the link for you to do your own analysis; have fun 🙂