Alberta's Rural Demography

Of Alberta’s population 82.1% is urban while 17.9% is rural.

Farm population represents only 25% of the rural population and a mere 4.7% of the province’s total population, representing a 46.6% drop since 1931.

Rural and Small Town Alberta grew 3.8% between 2001 and 2006 in all zones. The most growth (14.1%) occurred in the No Metropolitan Influence Zone (MIZ), areas which have no link to urban centres. This zone represents a higher proportion of Aboriginal communities, in which there tend to be higher birth rates than in other Alberta communities.

The Strong MIZ (those rural areas with significant ties to urban centres) grew by 12.9%, followed by the Moderate MIZ at 3.4% and the least growth occurred in the Weak MIZ at only 1.6%.

Definitions: Urban is defined as those living in built up areas with populations of 1,000 or greater and with a density no fewer than 400 people/kmē, based on the previous census Rural and Small Town (RST) refers to areas outside Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs). A CMA has a total population of 100,000 or more with 50,000 or more in the urban core and a CA has an urban core of 10,000 or more. Both CMAs and CAs include neighbouring towns and municipalities where 50% of more of the workforce commutes to the urban core (Statistics Canada, 2007).

Sources:
Statistics Canada. Agriculture-Population Data Tables, Set 5. Rural and urban populations by sex and age for the total population and the farm population. Available from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/95-633-x/2007000/6500029-eng.htm#iv. Accessed March 27, 2009. Last updated 2008-12-02.

Bollman, Ray and Heather Clemenson. 2008. Structure and Change in Canada’s Rural Demography: An Update to 2006. Rural and Small Town Analysis Bulletin Vol. 7, No. 7. Catalogue no. 21-006-X. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

**Greater provincial detail will be available in a forthcoming edition of the Rural and Small Town Analysis Bulletin