A Statistics Canada report on urban growth in Canada’s smaller centres sees Carleton Place and Arnprior bookending the Top Ten nation-wide.
It’s the first report to offer proof that Canadians are opting to move away from large, urban centres amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and relocate to the smaller communities located beyond the big urban borders.
Arnprior Mayor Walter Stack says with the extension of the 417, others of our neighbours will be joining future lists.
The new report, released Thursday, found that Carleton Place saw its population grow by 3.8 per cent last year, making it the fastest-growing community in Canada.
Arnprior, at number ten, came in with 2.3 percent growth, a rate Stack sees as accelerating.
The Mayor says he doesn’t see himself not being part of the process of guiding growth going forward.
Overall, the number of Canadians living in rural areas went up by 0.7 per cent between July 2020 and July 2021, with Ontario and Quebec leading the way in numbers of city dwellers relocating to rural areas.
