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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Port Alberni, British Columbia ¹

Map of Port Alberni

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Port Alberni, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

In 2011, the population of Port Alberni census agglomeration (CA) was 25,465, representing a percentage change of 0.5% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Port Alberni, the land area is 1,728.72 square kilometres with a population density of 14.7 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 11,201 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Port Alberni in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 3.6%. 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 Port Alberni CA

Table 1 Port Alberni CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	2011	2006	% change
Port Alberni	CY	17,743	17,548	1.1
Alberni-Clayoquot E	RDA	2,885	2,822	2.2
Alberni-Clayoquot F	RDA	1,916	1,882	1.8
Alberni-Clayoquot D	RDA	1,701	2,027	-16.1
Tsahaheh 1	IRI	584	425	37.4
Alberni-Clayoquot B	RDA	456	476	-4.2
Ahahswinis 1	IRI	160	148	8.1
Alberni 2	IRI	10	5	100.0
Klehkoot 2	IRI	10	10	0.0

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in British Columbia

Table 2 British Columbia – 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.
Vancouver	CMA	2,313,328	2,116,581	9.3	3	1
Victoria †	CMA	344,615	330,088	4.4	15	2
Kelowna	CMA	179,839	162,276	10.8	22	3
Abbotsford - Mission	CMA	170,191	159,020	7.0	23	4
Kamloops	CA	98,754	92,797 A	6.4	37	5
Nanaimo	CA	98,021	92,361	6.1	38	6
Chilliwack	CA	92,308	82,465 A	11.9	42	7
Prince George	CA	84,232	83,225	1.2	46	8
Vernon	CA	58,584	55,418	5.7	56	9
Courtenay	CA	55,213	51,383 A	7.5	58	10
Duncan	CA	43,252	41,387	4.5	68	11
Penticton	CA	42,361	41,303 A	2.6	71	12
Campbell River	CA	36,096	34,707 A	4.0	77	13
Parksville	CA	27,822	26,518	4.9	92	14
Fort St. John	CA	26,380	25,136	4.9	96	15
Port Alberni	CA	25,465	25,343 A	0.5	99	16
Cranbrook	CA	25,037	24,138	3.7	100	17
Quesnel	CA	22,096	21,049 A	5.0	104	18
Williams Lake	CA	18,490	18,760	-1.4	110	19
Salmon Arm	CA	17,683	16,205	9.1	114	20
Squamish	CA	17,479	15,256	14.6	116	21
Powell River	CA	16,689	16,537	0.9	119	22
Terrace	CA	15,569	15,420 A	1.0	124	23
Prince Rupert	CA	13,052	13,392	-2.5	131	24
Dawson Creek	CA	11,583	10,994	5.4	145	25

Age and sex

Port Alberni – Age distribution

Chart C: Port Alberni - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Port Alberni - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Port Alberni – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	15.5%	15.7%	15.3%
15 to 64	64.4%	64.5%	64.3%
65 and over	20.1%	19.8%	20.4%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Port Alberni was 20.1%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 64.4% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 15.5%. 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.

Port Alberni – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Port Alberni – 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	25,465	25,345	120	0.5
0 to 14	3,935	4,215	-280	-6.6
15 to 64	16,410	16,690	-280	-1.7
65 and over	5,120	4,445	675	15.2
Males
Total	12,625	12,670	-45	-0.4
0 to 14	1,980	2,175	-195	-9.0
15 to 64	8,140	8,380	-240	-2.9
65 and over	2,500	2,120	380	17.9
Females
Total	12,845	12,670	175	1.4
0 to 14	1,960	2,035	-75	-3.7
15 to 64	8,265	8,310	-45	-0.5
65 and over	2,615	2,320	295	12.7

Port Alberni – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Port Alberni - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Port Alberni – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	25,465	12,625	12,845
0 to 4 years	1,235	605	630
5 to 9 years	1,280	665	615
10 to 14 years	1,420	710	710
15 to 19 years	1,630	865	765
20 to 24 years	1,150	580	565
25 to 29 years	1,100	530	570
30 to 34 years	1,235	610	625
35 to 39 years	1,335	640	700
40 to 44 years	1,505	735	770
45 to 49 years	1,915	910	1,005
50 to 54 years	2,235	1,110	1,125
55 to 59 years	2,255	1,105	1,145
60 to 64 years	2,050	1,060	990
65 to 69 years	1,670	860	810
70 to 74 years	1,250	615	635
75 to 79 years	960	480	475
80 to 84 years	680	330	350
85 to 89 years	375	155	220
90 to 94 years	160	50	115
95 to 99 years	25	5	20
100 years and over	5	0	0
Median age	47.3	47.2	47.5

Port Alberni – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, British Columbia and Port Alberni - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, British Columbia and Port Alberni - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Port Alberni was 47.3 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 6 Canada, British Columbia and Port Alberni – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Port Alberni	44.9	47.3

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Port Alberni was 7,560, which represents a change of -1.4% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Port Alberni, 67.5% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 14.4% were common-law-couples and 18.1% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Port Alberni - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Port Alberni - Census families by family structure

Port Alberni – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia, Port Alberni – 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
British Columbia †	1,238,155	887,990	71.7	160,360	13.0	189,805	15.3	6.6
Port Alberni	7,560	5,100	67.5	1,090	14.4	1,370	18.1	-1.4

Port Alberni – Presence of children within couple families

Married couples		Common-law-couples
with children	without children	with children	without children
1,705 (27.5%)	3,390 (54.8%)	455 ( 7.4%)	635 (10.3%)

Chart G description: Port Alberni - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Port Alberni, 35.0% 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 Port Alberni, 81.8% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 18.2% 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.

Port Alberni – Marital status

Chart H description: Port Alberni - Marital status

In Port Alberni, 58.5% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (48.3%) or living with a common-law partner (10.2%).

The remaining 41.5% 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, British Columbia, Port Alberni – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Port Alberni		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	21,525	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	12,585	58.5	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	10,395	48.3	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	2,195	10.2	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	8,940	41.5	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	5,015	23.3	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	690	3.2	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	1,730	8.0	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	1,515	7.0	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Port Alberni – Types of private households

There were 11,205 private households⁴ in Port Alberni in 2011, a change of 3.6% from 2006. Of these, 18.9% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -12.4% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, British Columbia, Port Alberni – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Port Alberni		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Private households	11,205	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	2,115	18.9	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	3,915	34.9	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	1,265	11.3	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	3,440	30.7	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple-family households⁹	135	1.2	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	340	3.0	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Port Alberni – Structural type of dwelling

In Port Alberni, 75.7% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 0.9% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, British Columbia, Port Alberni – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Port Alberni		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	11,200	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	8,480	75.7	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	280	2.5	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	410	3.7	130,370	7.4	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	105	0.9	143,970	8.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	1,225	10.9	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	260	2.3	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	20	0.2	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	415	3.7	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Port Alberni – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Port Alberni - 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 Port Alberni, 88.8% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.8% reported French only, and 8.6% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 70.3% for English only, 1.3% for French only and 26.5% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 96.4% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.3% spoke only French and 2.1% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 80.5% for English only, 0.4% for French only and 15.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Port Alberni – 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	25,240	100.0	25,240	100.0
English	22,425	88.8	24,335	96.4
French	455	1.8	85	0.3
Non-official language	2,160	8.6	540	2.1
Multiple responses	200	0.8	275	1.1

Table 12 Port Alberni – 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	99.9	99.8	0.1
French	32.1	16.0	16.0
Non-official language	57.3	31.2	26.0

Port Alberni – Non-official languages

In Port Alberni, the three most common mother tongues were German (1.7%), Panjabi (Punjabi) (1.3%) and Dutch (1.2%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Panjabi (Punjabi) (4.5%), Cantonese (3.2%) and Chinese, n.o.s. (2.9%).

Table 13 Port Alberni – 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.
German	435	18.9	1.7
Panjabi (Punjabi)	335	14.6	1.3
Dutch	310	13.5	1.2
Italian	210	9.1	0.8
Croatian	80	3.5	0.3

Port Alberni – Bilingualism

Table 14 Port Alberni – 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	5.1	3.9	75.8	3.2
0 to 19	7.4	7.2	75.0	9.5
20 to 44	4.9	4.5	72.7	1.8
45 to 64	3.5	2.0	74.2	3.5
65 and over	5.5	1.8	77.8	2.8

Table 15 Port Alberni – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	25,245	100.0
English only	23,840	94.4
French only	10	0.0
English and French	1,320	5.2
Neither English nor French	70	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

Port Alberni – 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 Port Alberni
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census agglomeration of Port Alberni
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census agglomeration of Port Alberni

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census