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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Grande Prairie, Alberta ¹

Map of Grande Prairie

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Grande Prairie, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

In 2011, the population of Grande Prairie census agglomeration (CA) was 55,032, representing a percentage change of 16.8% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Grande Prairie, the land area is 72.80 square kilometres with a population density of 755.9 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 CAs is 232,264.62 square kilometres with 18.56 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 21,180 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Grande Prairie in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 22.1%. 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 Grande Prairie CA

Table 1 Grande Prairie CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	2011	2006	% change
Grande Prairie	CY	55,032	47,107 A	16.8

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

Table 2 Alberta – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name	Type	Population			Rank
CMA or CA name	Type	2011	2006	% change	Nat.	Prov.
Calgary	CMA	1,214,839	1,079,310	12.6	5	1
Edmonton	CMA	1,159,869	1,034,945	12.1	6	2
Lethbridge	CA	105,999	95,196	11.3	34	3
Red Deer	CA	90,564	83,154 A	8.9	43	4
Medicine Hat	CA	72,807	68,822	5.8	50	5
Wood Buffalo	CA	66,896	52,643	27.1	51	6
Grande Prairie	CA	55,032	47,107 A	16.8	59	7
Lloydminster	CA	30,798	27,023	14.0	87	···
Lloydminster (Saskatchewan part / partie de la Saskatchewan)		12,766	11,113	14.9	···	9
Lloydminster (Alberta part / partie de l'Alberta)		18,032	15,910	13.3	···	10
Okotoks	CA	24,511	17,150 A	42.9	101	8
Brooks	CA	23,430	22,452	4.4	103	9
Camrose	CA	17,286	15,630 A	10.6	117	11
Cold Lake	CA	13,839	11,991	15.4	127	12
High River	CA	12,920	10,716 A	20.6	134	13
Sylvan Lake	CA	12,762	10,703 A	19.2	136	14
Wetaskiwin	CA	12,525	11,689 A	7.2	138	15
Strathmore	CA	12,305	10,280 A	19.7	140	16
Canmore	CA	12,288	12,039	2.1	141	17
Lacombe	CA	11,707	10,752 A	8.9	144	18

Age and sex

Grande Prairie – Age distribution

Chart C: Grande Prairie - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Grande Prairie - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Grande Prairie – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	21.2%	21.0%	21.4%
15 to 64	72.6%	73.7%	71.4%
65 and over	6.2%	5.3%	7.2%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Grande Prairie was 6.2%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 72.6% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 21.2%. 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.

Grande Prairie – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Grande Prairie – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex	Population
Broad age groups by sex	2011	2006	change	% change
Both sexes
Total	55,030	47,115	7,915	16.8
0 to 14	11,665	10,040	1,625	16.2
15 to 64	39,940	34,175	5,765	16.9
65 and over	3,425	2,900	525	18.1
Males
Total	28,115	24,250	3,865	15.9
0 to 14	5,900	5,145	755	14.7
15 to 64	20,720	17,855	2,865	16.0
65 and over	1,490	1,250	240	19.2
Females
Total	26,920	22,870	4,050	17.7
0 to 14	5,765	4,900	865	17.7
15 to 64	19,220	16,320	2,900	17.8
65 and over	1,930	1,650	280	17.0

Grande Prairie – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Grande Prairie - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Grande Prairie – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	55,030	28,115	26,920
0 to 4 years	4,840	2,445	2,395
5 to 9 years	3,600	1,820	1,780
10 to 14 years	3,225	1,635	1,590
15 to 19 years	3,675	1,845	1,830
20 to 24 years	5,255	2,710	2,545
25 to 29 years	6,545	3,435	3,110
30 to 34 years	5,225	2,830	2,395
35 to 39 years	4,265	2,280	1,985
40 to 44 years	3,590	1,840	1,750
45 to 49 years	3,760	1,910	1,850
50 to 54 years	3,390	1,745	1,645
55 to 59 years	2,565	1,295	1,270
60 to 64 years	1,680	840	840
65 to 69 years	1,035	495	540
70 to 74 years	790	380	410
75 to 79 years	610	255	355
80 to 84 years	490	190	295
85 to 89 years	345	120	220
90 to 94 years	130	35	95
95 to 99 years	25	5	15
100 years and over	5	0	0
Median age	30.3	30.2	30.4

Grande Prairie – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, Alberta and Grande Prairie - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Alberta and Grande Prairie - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Grande Prairie was 30.3 years. In comparison, the median age of Alberta was 36.5 years.

Table 6 Canada, Alberta and Grande Prairie – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
Alberta	36.0	36.5
Grande Prairie	29.6	30.3

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Grande Prairie was 14,750, which represents a change of 18.0% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Grande Prairie, 61.7% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 22.2% were common-law-couples and 16.2% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Grande Prairie - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Grande Prairie - Census families by family structure

Grande Prairie – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Alberta, Grande Prairie – 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
Geographic name	Total families	number	%	number	%	number	%	% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Canada †	9,389,695	6,293,950	67.0	1,567,905	16.7	1,527,840	16.3	5.5
Alberta †	999,525	719,355	72.0	135,660	13.6	144,510	14.5	10.5
Grande Prairie	14,750	9,095	61.7	3,270	22.2	2,385	16.2	18.0

Grande Prairie – Presence of children within couple families

Married couples		Common-law-couples
with children	without children	with children	without children
5,115 (41.4%)	3,985 (32.2%)	1,445 (11.7%)	1,825 (14.8%)

Chart G description: Grande Prairie - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Grande Prairie, 53.0% 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 agglomeration of Grande Prairie, 83.7% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 16.3% 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.

Grande Prairie – Marital status

Chart H description: Grande Prairie - Marital status

In Grande Prairie, 58.2% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (43.1%) or living with a common-law partner (15.1%).

The remaining 41.8% 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, Alberta, Grande Prairie – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Grande Prairie		Alberta		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	43,365	100.0	2,960,470	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	25,235	58.2	1,756,860	59.3	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	18,690	43.1	1,484,705	50.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	6,540	15.1	272,155	9.2	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	18,130	41.8	1,203,615	40.7	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	13,020	30.0	823,935	27.8	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	1,240	2.9	70,855	2.4	698,245	2.5
Divorced	2,440	5.6	177,375	6.0	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	1,430	3.3	131,440	4.4	1,584,525	5.7

Grande Prairie – Types of private households

There were 21,180 private households⁴ in Grande Prairie in 2011, a change of 22.2% from 2006. Of these, 30.2% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 11.0% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Alberta, Grande Prairie – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Grande Prairie		Alberta		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Private households	21,180	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	6,400	30.2	407,145	29.3	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	5,555	26.2	406,380	29.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	2,175	10.3	128,330	9.2	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	4,970	23.5	342,735	24.7	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple-family households⁹	305	1.4	27,900	2.0	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	1,780	8.4	77,785	5.6	543,340	4.1

Grande Prairie – Structural type of dwelling

In Grande Prairie, 64.4% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 0.6% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Alberta, Grande Prairie – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Grande Prairie		Alberta		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	21,180	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	13,645	64.4	883,260	63.5	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	1,365	6.4	71,850	5.2	646,240	4.9
Row house	915	4.3	97,865	7.0	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	135	0.6	58,205	4.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	4,100	19.4	197,945	14.2	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	470	2.2	33,505	2.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	5	0.0	1,060	0.1	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	545	2.6	46,590	3.4	183,510	1.4

Language

Grande Prairie – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Grande Prairie - 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 Grande Prairie, 88.2% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.6% reported French only, and 8.0% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 77.0% for English only, 1.9% for French only and 19.4% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 94.3% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.9% spoke only French and 3.3% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 85.7% for English only, 0.7% for French only and 10.5% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Grande Prairie – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	54,695	100.0	54,695	100.0
English	48,230	88.2	51,590	94.3
French	1,400	2.6	485	0.9
Non-official language	4,370	8.0	1,830	3.3
Multiple responses	680	1.2	790	1.4

Table 12 Grande Prairie – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹³ (in percentage)
Mother tongue	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	99.6	0.2
French	55.0	30.8	24.2
Non-official language	70.9	44.9	25.9

Grande Prairie – Non-official languages

In Grande Prairie, the three most common mother tongues were Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.7%), German (1.3%) and Spanish (0.6%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were German (2.3%), Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.9%) and Panjabi (Punjabi) (1.5%).

Table 13 Grande Prairie – 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.
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	920	19.0	1.7
German	710	14.7	1.3
Spanish	325	6.7	0.6
Panjabi (Punjabi)	225	4.6	0.4
Polish	225	4.6	0.4

Grande Prairie – Bilingualism

Table 14 Grande Prairie – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups	Mother tongue
Age groups	Total	English	French	Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total	6.8	4.7	87.5	4.0
0 to 19	7.7	6.9	74.3	6.2
20 to 44	6.7	4.8	90.4	4.6
45 to 64	6.0	2.0	89.0	3.5
65 and over	5.7	1.5	81.8	1.6

Table 15 Grande Prairie – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	54,690	100.0
English only	50,570	92.5
French only	70	0.1
English and French	3,890	7.1
Neither English nor French	165	0.3

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.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Grande Prairie – This census agglomeration has the following data quality indicators (commonly referred to as data quality flags):

2006 adjusted count; most of these are the result of boundary changes.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Median age: Age 'x' that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x'.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Household, private: Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy a private dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Household type: Refers to the basic division of private households into family and non-family households. Family household refers to a household that contains at least one census family, that is, a married couple with or without children, or a couple living in common-law with or without children or a lone parent living with one or more children.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Couple-family households without children: Refers to couple households without children aged 24 and under. Includes couple households with all children aged 25 and over.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Other single-attached house: A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Footnote 13

Mother-tongue retention: Retention refers to the situation where people speak their mother tongue at home. Retention is defined as 'complete' when the mother tongue is the language spoken most often and 'partial' when it is spoken on a regular basis but not most often. The (complete or partial) retention rate refers to the proportion of the population with a given mother tongue that speaks that language at home most often or on a regular basis. The retention rate provides an indication of a group's linguistic vitality, particularly the importance of transmitting languages between generations.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

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:

2011 Census Topic-based tabulations – Census agglomeration of Grande Prairie
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census agglomeration of Grande Prairie
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census agglomeration of Grande Prairie

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census