B.C.’s provincial government is projecting Surrey’s population to be a whopping 1,054,376 in 2046.
It also says 684,485 residents will call this city home in 2024.
According to BC Stats, Surrey is expected to surpass Vancouver as the province’s biggest city in 2029, with a projected population of 785,619 compared to Vancouver’s 780,075. The population estimates and projections for the province can be found at bcstats.shinyapps.io/popApp/
Surrey’s population in 2046 is expected to consist of 528,480 females and 525,896 males.
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Neighbouring White Rock, with a population of 22,623 in 2024, is expected to swell to 29,512 residents in 2046 and as for Delta, that’s 118,320 residents in 2024 growing to 153,678 by 2046.
The BC Stats report released on Jan. 31 by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs projects British Columbia’s population to reach 7.9 million by 2046, up by 44 per cent compared to 5.5 million last year.
A press release also issued on Jan. 31 indicates the population growth is being driven by federal immigration targets and changing immigration policies. “The B.C. government will continue to work with the federal government to ensure newcomers have the support they need,” it reads.
From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, B.C.’s population grew by three per cent, making for the highest annual increase since 1974.
The provincial government press release also revealed B.C.’s population is now made up of 8.2 per cent non-permanent residents and that it’s expected that international migrants will fill 46 per cent of the new jobs in B.C. between 2024 and 2033.
Pierre Cléroux, chief economist of the Business Development Bank of Canada, noted at a Surrey Board of Trade luncheon on Feb. 1 that population growth in Canada is increasing by 2.9 per cent. “This is exceptional. We have to go back to 1957 to see this kind of growth,” he said. “Just to help you to compare, last year the U.S. population growth was 0.5. In Canada it was 2.9.”