Millennials are the fastest-growing generation in Canada, and Surrey is no exception.
In fact, as 2021 Census data shows, the population of people in Surrey between the ages of 25-40 is growing at an even faster rate than the rest of the country.
READ ALSO: Surrey’s population grows to 568,000, with certain communities seeing 10% growth, Feb. 25, 2022
In February, Statistics Canada released the first batch of data from the 2021 Census, noting that the City of Surrey’s population grew by more than nine per cent between 2016 and 2021 to 568,322 people. Now, the latest census data released Wednesday (April 27) breaks down Canada’s population by age, and millennials are the fastest-growing generation in the country, rising 8.6 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
The census credits that increase to immigration, “despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on recent immigration.”
In Surrey, however, the millennial population increased by 15.8 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, made up about 21.7 per cent (123,190 people) of Surrey’s population in 2021 and about 20.5 per cent (106,350) in 2016.
The 2021 Census data says the “Canadian population is changing due to baby boomers getting older and immigration boosting numbers in the younger generations. These changes will have significant consequences, particularly on the labour market services to seniors, and the consumption of goods and services.”
Countrywide, millennials account for the largest share of the working-age population, those aged 15 to 64, at 33.2 per cent. But in Surrey, that’s slightly less at 31.8 per cent in 2021.
Statistics Canada notes this is the first time since the end of the boom that baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1965, make up less than a quarter of the Canadian population.
Baby boomers represent 24.9 per cent of Canada’s population, but in Surrey, they account for slightly less at 21.4 per cent (120,960 people). In Surrey in 2016, it was slightly less at 21 per cent (108, 565).
Surrey is the second-largest city in B.C. population-wise, surpassed only by Vancouver, which has a population of 662,248. That’s up from 631,486 in 2016.
Meantime, Statistics Canada is set to release its next batch of data on July 13, focusing on families and households, Canadian military experience and the income profile of Canadians.
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lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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