Census: thousands leave northern Ontario cities over last 5 years

Most cities in northeastern Ontario are getting smaller according to new population numbers from the 2016 census released today.

North Bay saw the largest decrease over the last five years, with 2,098 fewer people living in the city that now has a population of 51,553.

Greater Sudbury is one of the few in the region to see an increase, with 1,257 more people living there than in 2011. The city of now 161,531 people has seen steady increases over the last decade, with the population growing by about 6,000 people since the 2006 census.

In total, the census shows that northeastern Ontario's population declined by 2,600 to 548,449 over the last five years.

There were fairly sizeable population declines in Elliot Lake (down 607), Temiskaming Shores (down 480) and Espanola(down 368).

Some of the largest increases were in smaller towns surrounding Greater Sudbury, including Markstay-Warren (up 359), West Nipissing (up 215) and French River (up 220).

Many first nation communities in the region saw an increase, while others remained more or less the same. The census was taken in Attawapiskat for the first time in 20 years with the on reserve population coming in at 1,501.