Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

Archived Content

Content is archived.

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay, Ontario

Map of Thunder Bay, CMA (shaded in green), Ontario

Map of Thunder Bay

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Thunder Bay, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Thunder Bay, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
14
Nat. rank
32

In 2011, the population of Thunder Bay census metropolitan area (CMA) was 121,596, representing a percentage change of -1.1% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In Thunder Bay, the land area is 2,556.37 square kilometres with a population density of 47.6 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CMAs is 92,648.98 square kilometres with 249.58 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 52,062 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Thunder Bay in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 1.2%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the Thunder Bay CMA

Table 1 Thunder Bay CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Thunder Bay CY 108,359 109,160 A -0.7
Oliver Paipoonge MU 5,732 5,757 -0.4
Shuniah TP 2,737 2,913 -6.0
Neebing MU 1,986 2,184 -9.1
Fort William 52 IRI 860 889 A -3.3
Conmee TP 764 740 3.2
O'Connor TP 685 720 -4.9
Gillies TP 473 544 -13.1

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in Ontario

Table 2 Ontario – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name Type Population Rank
2011 2006 % change Nat. Prov.
Toronto CMA 5,583,064 5,113,149 9.2 1 1
Ottawa - Gatineau CMA 1,236,324 1,133,633 A 9.1 4 ···
Ottawa - Gatineau (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   314,501 286,831 A 9.6 ··· 3
Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   921,823 846,802 8.9 ··· 2
Hamilton CMA 721,053 692,911 4.1 9 3
Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo CMA 477,160 451,235 5.7 10 4
London CMA 474,786 457,720 3.7 11 5
St. Catharines - Niagara CMA 392,184 390,317 0.5 12 6
Oshawa CMA 356,177 330,594 7.7 14 7
Windsor CMA 319,246 323,342 -1.3 16 8
Barrie CMA 187,013 177,061 5.6 21 9
Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury CMA 160,770 158,258 1.6 24 10
Kingston CMA 159,561 152,358 4.7 25 11
Guelph CMA 141,097 133,698 A 5.5 28 12
Brantford CMA 135,501 124,607 8.7 30 13
Thunder Bay CMA 121,596 122,907 -1.1 32 14
Peterborough CMA 118,975 116,570 2.1 33 15
Chatham-Kent CA 104,075 108,589 -4.2 35 16
Belleville CA 92,540 91,518 1.1 40 17
Sarnia CA 89,555 88,793 0.9 44 18
Sault Ste. Marie † CA 79,800 80,098 -0.4 47 19
Kawartha Lakes CA 73,214 74,561 -1.8 49 20
North Bay CA 64,043 63,424 1.0 53 21
Norfolk CA 63,175 62,563 1.0 54 22
Cornwall CA 58,957 58,485 0.8 55 23
Leamington CA 49,765 49,741 0.0 63 24
Timmins CA 43,165 42,997 0.4 69 25
Orillia CA 40,731 40,532 0.5 73 26
Brockville CA 39,024 39,668 -1.6 75 27
Woodstock CA 37,754 35,822 A 5.4 76 28
Midland CA 35,419 35,432 A 0.0 79 29
Owen Sound CA 32,092 32,259 -0.5 85 30
Stratford CA 30,886 30,516 A 1.2 86 31
Centre Wellington CA 26,693 26,049 2.5 95 32
Pembroke CA 24,017 23,195 3.5 102 33
Collingwood CA 19,241 17,290 11.3 106 34
Cobourg CA 18,519 18,210 1.7 109 35
Port Hope CA 16,214 16,390 -1.1 121 36
Petawawa CA 15,988 14,651 9.1 123 37
Kenora CA 15,348 15,177 1.1 125 38
Tillsonburg CA 15,301 14,822 3.2 126 39
Temiskaming Shores CA 13,566 13,654 A -0.6 129 40
Ingersoll CA 12,146 11,760 3.3 142 41
Hawkesbury CA 12,128 12,267 -1.1 143 ···
Hawkesbury (partie du Québec / Quebec part)   1,577 1,398 12.8 ··· 31
Hawkesbury (Ontario part / partie de l'Ontario)   10,551 10,869 -2.9 ··· 43
Elliot Lake CA 11,348 11,549 -1.7 146 42

Age and sex

Thunder Bay – Age distribution

Chart C: Thunder Bay - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Thunder Bay - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Thunder Bay – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 14.8% 15.4% 14.3%
15 to 64 68.0% 69.1% 67.0%
65 and over 17.2% 15.5% 18.7%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Thunder Bay was 17.2%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 68.0% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 14.8%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Thunder Bay – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Thunder Bay – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 121,595 122,905 -1,310 -1.1
0 to 14 18,005 20,235 -2,230 -11.0
15 to 64 82,710 82,985 -275 -0.3
65 and over 20,880 19,695 1,185 6.0
Males
Total 59,245 59,885 -640 -1.1
0 to 14 9,110 10,345 -1,235 -11.9
15 to 64 40,925 41,020 -95 -0.2
65 and over 9,210 8,520 690 8.1
Females
Total 62,355 63,020 -665 -1.1
0 to 14 8,890 9,890 -1,000 -10.1
15 to 64 41,785 41,960 -175 -0.4
65 and over 11,670 11,175 495 4.4

Thunder Bay – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: Thunder Bay - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Thunder Bay - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Thunder Bay – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 121,595 59,245 62,355
0 to 4 years 5,665 2,860 2,810
5 to 9 years 5,805 2,935 2,870
10 to 14 years 6,535 3,325 3,210
15 to 19 years 7,845 3,980 3,865
20 to 24 years 8,125 4,045 4,080
25 to 29 years 7,225 3,615 3,605
30 to 34 years 6,730 3,295 3,430
35 to 39 years 7,140 3,455 3,685
40 to 44 years 8,040 3,940 4,105
45 to 49 years 9,505 4,665 4,835
50 to 54 years 10,360 5,075 5,280
55 to 59 years 9,415 4,685 4,730
60 to 64 years 8,340 4,165 4,175
65 to 69 years 5,860 2,850 3,005
70 to 74 years 4,740 2,240 2,495
75 to 79 years 3,915 1,790 2,130
80 to 84 years 3,185 1,340 1,850
85 to 89 years 2,170 745 1,425
90 to 94 years 810 210 600
95 to 99 years 185 30 150
100 years and over 20 5 20
Median age 43.6 42.7 44.4

Thunder Bay – Median age1 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Ontario and Thunder Bay - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Ontario and Thunder Bay - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Thunder Bay was 43.6 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 6 Canada, Ontario and Thunder Bay – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Ontario 39.0 40.4
Thunder Bay 41.8 43.6

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families2 in Thunder Bay was 34,545, which represents a change of -1.5% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Thunder Bay, 67.6% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 13.7% were common-law-couples and 18.7% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Thunder Bay - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Thunder Bay - Census families by family structure

Thunder Bay – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Ontario, Thunder Bay – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name Total families Married-couple families Common-law-couple families Lone-parent families % change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number % number % number %
Canada † 9,389,695 6,293,950 67.0 1,567,905 16.7 1,527,840 16.3 5.5
Ontario † 3,612,205 2,612,890 72.3 394,670 10.9 604,645 16.7 5.5
Thunder Bay 34,545 23,355 67.6 4,745 13.7 6,445 18.7 -1.5

Thunder Bay – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Thunder Bay - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
9,955 (35.4%) 13,395 (47.7%) 1,875 ( 6.7%) 2,865 (10.2%)

Chart G description: Thunder Bay - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay, 42.1% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay, 85.4% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 14.6% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

Thunder Bay – Marital status

Chart H: Thunder Bay - Marital status

Chart H description: Thunder Bay - Marital status

In Thunder Bay, 55.2% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (46.0%) or living with a common-law partner (9.2%).

The remaining 44.8% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, Ontario, Thunder Bay – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Thunder Bay Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 103,595 100.0 10,671,050 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 57,140 55.2 6,158,605 57.7 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 47,615 46.0 5,367,400 50.3 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 9,520 9.2 791,210 7.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 46,455 44.8 4,512,440 42.3 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 28,945 27.9 2,985,020 28.0 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 3,690 3.6 319,805 3.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 6,210 6.0 593,730 5.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 7,610 7.3 613,880 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

Thunder Bay – Types of private households

There were 52,065 private households3 in Thunder Bay in 2011, a change of 1.2% from 2006. Of these, 22.3% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -12.6% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, Thunder Bay – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type4 Thunder Bay Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 52,065 100.0 4,887,505 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home5		 11,605 22.3 1,402,420 28.7 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home6		 15,755 30.3 1,408,120 28.8 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households7 5,970 11.5 535,825 11.0 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 16,330 31.4 1,230,980 25.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households8 605 1.2 128,660 2.6 268,060 2.0
Other households9 1,805 3.5 181,500 3.7 543,340 4.1

Thunder Bay – Structural type of dwelling

In Thunder Bay, 68.9% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 4.9% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, Thunder Bay – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Thunder Bay Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 52,060 100.0 4,887,510 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 35,885 68.9 2,718,880 55.6 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 2,050 3.9 279,470 5.7 646,240 4.9
Row house 1,355 2.6 415,230 8.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 2,550 4.9 789,975 16.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 7,385 14.2 498,160 10.2 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 2,280 4.4 160,460 3.3 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house10 130 0.2 9,535 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling11 425 0.8 15,795 0.3 183,510 1.4

Language

Thunder Bay – Mother tongue

Chart J: Thunder Bay - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: Thunder Bay - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Thunder Bay, 85.1% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.4% reported French only, and 11.3% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 68.2% for English only, 3.9% for French only and 25.7% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 94.6% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.7% spoke only French and 3.2% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 79.0% for English only, 2.2% for French only and 14.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Thunder Bay – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 119,925 100.0 119,925 100.0
English 102,115 85.1 113,480 94.6
French 2,840 2.4 885 0.7
Non-official language 13,570 11.3 3,795 3.2
Multiple responses 1,405 1.2 1,765 1.5
Table 12 Thunder Bay – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention12
(in percentage)
Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis Complete retention; language spoken most often at home Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English 99.8 99.7 0.1
French 55.1 30.2 24.8
Non-official language 59.5 33.4 26.1

Thunder Bay – Non-official languages

In Thunder Bay, the three most common mother tongues were Italian (2.8%), Finnish (1.9%) and Polish (0.9%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Italian (2.1%), Chinese, n.o.s. (1.6%) and Cantonese (1.5%).

Table 13 Thunder Bay – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Number Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Italian 3,390 23.1 2.8
Finnish 2,325 15.9 1.9
Polish 1,050 7.2 0.9
Ukrainian 995 6.8 0.8
German 870 5.9 0.7
Ojibway 830 5.7 0.7
Dutch 435 3.0 0.4
Portuguese 415 2.8 0.3
Oji-Cree 410 2.8 0.3
Croatian 335 2.3 0.3

Thunder Bay – Bilingualism

Table 14 Thunder Bay – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 7.1 5.5 84.9 3.3
0 to 19 10.4 9.5 82.8 10.8
20 to 44 8.2 6.6 89.0 4.5
45 to 64 5.2 2.5 84.8 3.5
65 and over 4.4 2.0 80.8 1.5
Table 15 Thunder Bay – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 119,925 100.0
English only 110,485 92.1
French only 135 0.1
English and French 8,755 7.3
Neither English nor French 550 0.5

Symbols:

···
not applicable
†
excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A
adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E
use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.


Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.
 

Related data:

Date modified: