Strengthening rural Canada : Renforcer les communautés rurales du Canada : moins nombreux et plus âgés : Population et démographie : les défis du Canada: un rapport pancanadien

The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada, Essential Skills Ontario, Decoda Literacy Solutions, the Saskatchewan Literacy Network, Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador and RESDAC. [...] Depending on which definition of rural is used, between 19 and 30 percent of the Canadian population live in rural areas.1 The size of the rural population varies greatly from one province or territory to another. [...] Fewer and Older: Demographic and Population Challenges Across Rural Canada 2 PART I: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS IN RURAL + URBAN CANADA Figure 1 shows the rural population in Canada, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan based on Census rural and rural and small town (RST) definitions. [...] Using different definitions also results in different shares of Figure 1: Rural Population in 2011 the rural population in various provinces as shown in Figure 2. On average about 19 percent of Canada’s population lived in Census rural areas in 2011. [...] The rural population accounts for 33 and 28 percent of the Figure 2: Percentage Share of Rural Population in 2011 total population in Saskatchewan and Manitoba respectively.