Mayor 'reasonably confident' population will rebound{{Gowest mentioned...nothing much but if our Mayor is optimistic, which obviously means he knows what we don't}}
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Mayor 'reasonably confident' population will rebound
The city's population dropped 1.5 per cent in the 2021 census, Pirie says there's 'a lot of irons in the fire that will see us well past this portion of our history'
Timmins Mayor George Pirie. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday While Timmins' population dropped in the 2021 census, Mayor George Pirie is "reasonably confident" that next time it's done the population will be higher.
Activity in the mining sector, a focus on agriculture and immigration are some of the reasons for his optimism.
Yesterday, Statistics Canada released the first round of data from the 2021 census.
In Timmins, there has been a 1.5 per cent drop in population compared to the 2016 census. The 2021 population was 41,145 people, compared to 41,788 in 2016.
In the last decade, the population has declined by over 2,000 people (4.6 per cent). Timmins' population peaked in the mid-'90s when there were over 47,000 people in the city.
Anecdotally, Pirie said the lowest population was probably around 2018-19.
“I think we’ve rebounded from the absolutely lowest. Having said that, we have a long way to come back,” he said.
In the resource sector, a real turning point for Pirie was in 2019 when IAMGOLD's Ct Gold Project was announced. He said Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold's Detour Lake has a "tremendous future" and pointed to Galleon, GoWest and the continual positive announcements from Canada Nickel as good news as well. At Glencore's Kidd Mine, he said the next significant point will be later this year with the results of its feasibility study.
“We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire that will see us well past this portion of our history. We’re going very aggressively on the rare earth and the battery economy. We’ve got a very aggressive proposal in front of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, we’re actively involved with that to see that we’ll be the north’s innovation centre here in Timmins," he said.
"We’re looking at the future and I’m reasonably confident that the next census … you’ll see us well along the line with a higher population."
Agriculture and the amount of arable land in the region are other key factors for Pirie.
In the coming weeks, he said there will be a formal announcement about funding for an agriculture study.
"And I think that that presents a totally different future for the opportunities for diversifying our economy,” he said.
Other encouraging signs are the number of lots the city has sold at its industrial park on McBride, expanding the rail park on Hallnor Road, and two large service centre industry projects on Highway 101 West.