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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 1

Map of Sault Ste. Marie, CA (shaded in green), Ontario

Map of Sault Ste. Marie

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Sault Ste. Marie, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Sault Ste. Marie, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
19
Nat. rank
47

In 2011, the population of Sault Ste. Marie census agglomeration (CA) was 79,800, representing a percentage change of -0.4% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Sault Ste. Marie, the land area is 805.38 square kilometres with a population density of 99.1 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 34,338 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Sault Ste. Marie in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 1.8%. 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 Sault Ste. Marie CA

Table 1 Sault Ste. Marie CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Sault Ste. Marie CY 75,141 74,948 0.3
Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional TP 1,464 1,550 -5.5
Garden River 14 IRI 1,107 985 12.4
Laird TP 1,057 1,078 -1.9
Prince TP 1,031 971 6.2
Rankin Location 15D  IRI 566

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

Sault Ste. Marie – Age distribution

Chart C: Sault Ste. Marie - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Sault Ste. Marie - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Sault Ste. Marie – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 14.4% 15.4% 13.4%
15 to 64 66.3% 66.8% 65.8%
65 and over 19.3% 17.7% 20.8%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Sault Ste. Marie was 19.3%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 66.3% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 14.4%. 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.

Sault Ste. Marie – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Sault Ste. Marie – 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 79,800 80,100 -300 -0.4
0 to 14 11,480 12,410 -930 -7.5
15 to 64 52,905 53,290 -385 -0.7
65 and over 15,415 14,395 1,020 7.1
Males
Total 38,475 38,530 -55 -0.1
0 to 14 5,930 6,410 -480 -7.5
15 to 64 25,715 25,805 -90 -0.3
65 and over 6,825 6,315 510 8.1
Females
Total 41,320 41,565 -245 -0.6
0 to 14 5,545 6,005 -460 -7.7
15 to 64 27,185 27,480 -295 -1.1
65 and over 8,585 8,085 500 6.2

Sault Ste. Marie – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D: Sault Ste. Marie - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Sault Ste. Marie - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Sault Ste. Marie – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 79,800 38,475 41,320
0 to 4 years 3,720 1,960 1,760
5 to 9 years 3,710 1,845 1,860
10 to 14 years 4,045 2,130 1,925
15 to 19 years 5,030 2,565 2,465
20 to 24 years 5,020 2,515 2,500
25 to 29 years 4,455 2,170 2,285
30 to 34 years 4,315 2,050 2,265
35 to 39 years 4,235 2,035 2,200
40 to 44 years 4,775 2,330 2,450
45 to 49 years 6,200 2,940 3,270
50 to 54 years 6,985 3,285 3,700
55 to 59 years 6,245 3,075 3,170
60 to 64 years 5,645 2,760 2,890
65 to 69 years 4,225 2,000 2,220
70 to 74 years 3,610 1,670 1,940
75 to 79 years 3,110 1,435 1,675
80 to 84 years 2,475 1,050 1,425
85 to 89 years 1,360 500 860
90 to 94 years 505 135 370
95 to 99 years 120 30 90
100 years and over 15 0 5
Median age 45.6 44.3 46.6

Sault Ste. Marie – Median age2 of the population

Chart E: Canada, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Sault Ste. Marie was 45.6 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 6 Canada, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
Ontario 39.0 40.4
Sault Ste. Marie 43.7 45.6

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families3 in Sault Ste. Marie was 23,450, which represents a change of -0.4% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Sault Ste. Marie, 68.1% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 13.1% were common-law-couples and 18.8% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Sault Ste. Marie - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Sault Ste. Marie - Census families by family structure

Sault Ste. Marie – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie – 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
Sault Ste. Marie † 23,450 15,975 68.1 3,075 13.1 4,410 18.8 -0.4

Sault Ste. Marie – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Sault Ste. Marie - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
6,420 (33.7%) 9,555 (50.2%) 1,390 ( 7.3%) 1,680 ( 8.8%)

Chart G description: Sault Ste. Marie - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Sault Ste. Marie, 41.0% 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 Sault Ste. Marie, 83.1% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 16.9% 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.

Sault Ste. Marie – Marital status

Chart H: Sault Ste. Marie - Marital status

Chart H description: Sault Ste. Marie - Marital status

In Sault Ste. Marie, 56.6% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (47.6%) or living with a common-law partner (9.0%).

The remaining 43.4% 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, Sault Ste. Marie – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 68,325 100.0 10,671,050 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 38,665 56.6 6,158,605 57.7 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 32,515 47.6 5,367,400 50.3 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 6,145 9.0 791,210 7.4 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 29,660 43.4 4,512,440 42.3 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 17,520 25.6 2,985,020 28.0 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 2,355 3.4 319,805 3.0 698,245 2.5
Divorced 4,520 6.6 593,730 5.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 5,260 7.7 613,880 5.8 1,584,525 5.7

Sault Ste. Marie – Types of private households

There were 34,335 private households4 in Sault Ste. Marie in 2011, a change of 1.8% from 2006. Of these, 22.4% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -9.6% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type5 Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 34,335 100.0 4,887,505 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home6		 7,675 22.4 1,402,420 28.7 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home7		 10,900 31.7 1,408,120 28.8 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households8 4,125 12.0 535,825 11.0 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 10,290 30.0 1,230,980 25.2 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households9 370 1.1 128,660 2.6 268,060 2.0
Other households10 975 2.8 181,500 3.7 543,340 4.1

Sault Ste. Marie – Structural type of dwelling

In Sault Ste. Marie, 67.0% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 6.2% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 34,335 100.0 4,887,510 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 22,995 67.0 2,718,880 55.6 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 1,900 5.5 279,470 5.7 646,240 4.9
Row house 945 2.8 415,230 8.5 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 2,115 6.2 789,975 16.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 4,760 13.9 498,160 10.2 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 1,520 4.4 160,460 3.3 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house11 90 0.3 9,535 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling12 10 0.0 15,795 0.3 183,510 1.4

Language

Sault Ste. Marie – Mother tongue

Chart J: Sault Ste. Marie - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Chart J description: Sault Ste. Marie - 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 Sault Ste. Marie, 86.4% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 3.5% reported French only, and 9.0% 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, 95.3% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.8% spoke only French and 2.8% 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 Sault Ste. Marie – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 78,665 100.0 78,670 100.0
English 68,000 86.4 74,935 95.3
French 2,780 3.5 645 0.8
Non-official language 7,100 9.0 2,210 2.8
Multiple responses 790 1.0 870 1.1
Table 12 Sault Ste. Marie – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention13
(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 99.8 0.1
French 50.7 23.9 26.8
Non-official language 62.9 35.6 27.3

Sault Ste. Marie – Non-official languages

In Sault Ste. Marie, the three most common mother tongues were Italian (5.0%), Finnish (0.9%) and German (0.7%), 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 Sault Ste. Marie – 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 3,895 51.5 5.0
Finnish 670 8.9 0.9
German 560 7.4 0.7
Polish 340 4.5 0.4
Ukrainian 220 2.9 0.3

Sault Ste. Marie – Bilingualism

Table 14 Sault Ste. Marie – 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 8.8 6.1 88.8 3.8
0 to 19 11.8 10.7 90.7 13.3
20 to 44 9.8 7.6 93.3 6.1
45 to 64 7.1 2.9 90.8 4.5
65 and over 6.8 2.4 82.9 1.7
Table 15 Sault Ste. Marie – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 78,665 100.0
English only 71,140 90.4
French only 55 0.1
English and French 7,140 9.1
Neither English nor French 330 0.4

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.
 

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