Centre Wellington’s population grew 10.8 per cent in the past five years, the most population growth out of all of Wellington County’s municipalities.
Results from the 2021 census, released on Wednesday, show’s the township has 31,093 residents, which is up 10.8 per cent from the 2016 census when Centre Wellington’s population sat at 28,191.
“We’re growing in a pretty steady incline, especially in Centre Wellington. The township is taking a good percentage of that growth but it doesn’t really come as a surprise. We’ve been hovering around a two per cent growth per year for a while now,” said Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton.
The second-highest population growth rate in Wellington County is Puslinch with an 8.3 per cent increase from the 2016’s census. According to the 2021 census, Puslinch had 7,944 residents, when in 2016, it had 7,336 residents.
Meanwhile, Guelph/Eramosa Township had 13,904 residents in 2021, which is an 8.2 per cent increase from the 2016 census when the township had 12,854 residents.
The rest of the municipalities in the county saw a growth rate just below five per cent with Minto’s population growing 4.9 per cent in the past five years, going from 8,671 to 9,094; the Town of Erin saw a 4.7 per cent increase from its 2016 population of 11,439 to 11,981; and Wellington North faced a 4.3 per cent change, going from 11,914 to 12,431 residents.
The Township of Mapleton saw the lowest change since 2016 with a population of 10,839. That’s a three per cent increase from the 2016 census when the township had 10,527 residents.
Overall, the county’s population sits at 97,286. The last census in 2016 showed the county has a population of just over 93,000. However, this population boom is far from over as the county is currently mandated by the province to reach an overall population of 168,000 by 2051.
“There are some people who are worried about how quickly we are growing. I grew up in Centre Wellington and I’ve seen the increase in population and I see that it’s busier now. There’s a lot of people that want to retain our small town feel and as we grow that becomes more challenging,” said Linton.
“But we do a lot of long-term planning when it comes to our infrastructure, water, trails, roads and we plan well into the future. We have been working really hard to make sure we have the necessary shovel-ready lands for residential and commercial development. We just bought 55 acres in Fergus to have a brand new business park that’s going to be open in the spring. We make sure that the growth rate is balanced with employment rates.”
Wednesday’s data release is the first stemming from the 2021 census, with another set for late April highlighting age, gender and types of dwellings.
