NWT population nudges upwards

The population of the Northwest Territories grew by a paltry 0.5 per cent to 44,741 people between Jan. 1, 2024 and Jan. 1, 2023. That was far below national growth of 3.2 per cent during the same time frame. The increase of 226 people was due to 504 births exceeding 323 deaths and 610 international migrants settling in the territory compared to 565 people moving away. Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the NWT's net international migration has been on "an increase," the NWT Bureau of Statistics stated. There was growth in the Beaufort Delta, Dehcho, Sahtu and Tlicho regions year over year. However, the Yellowknife and South Slave regions both saw declines in population between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. For every person living in the NWT, the federal government transferred $37,555 in 2023-24. That is projected to rise to $39,216 in per capita allocation in 2024-25. Demographic changes The NWT's non-Indigenous population was slightly higher than the Indigenous population as of July 1, 2023: 22,507 to 22,465, respectively. That was a reversal of 2022 when the territory's Indigenous population held an edge by a couple hundred people. The Indigenous population was significantly greater than the number of non-Indigenous people in the Beaufort Delta, the Dehcho, the Sahtu and the Tlicho. The gap narrowed in the South Slave. In Yellowknife, the non-Indigenous population formed a large majority: 16,188 to 5,174 Indigenous residents. There were 23,032 men and 21,940 women in the territory as of July 1, 2023. The territory remained considerably younger than the national profile with the median age of residents at 35.6 years compared to 40.6 for the entire country. Based on the 2021 census, which uses a different approach to ascertaining population than Statistics Canada's quarterly estimates, Yellowknife's population grew to 19,673 from the 19,141 residents recorded during the 2016 census. The city had 7,773 private dwellings as of the 2021 census, of which 7,225 were occupied. The average household size was 2.6 people. Across the territory, there were 17,603 private dwellings. Census data In April, Statistics Canada released data on the Indigenous population from the 2021 census. It showed that the Indigenous population of the Northwest Territories stood at 20,040 at the time, a decline of 3.9 per cent since the previous census in 2016. The biggest drop was in the Metis population, which fell 14.6 per cent to 2,890 since 2016. Nationally, Metis numbers grew by 6.3 per cent. First Nations individuals in the NWT were 6.6 per cent fewer than five years earlier with 12,315 identifying as part of that demographic. Across Canada, the First Nations population expanded by 9.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the territory's Inuit population rose by 1.8 per cent to 4,155. NWT population by region and community as of July 1, 2023 Beaufort Delta region 7,022 Aklavik 667 Fort McPherson 775 Inuvik 3,383 Paulatuk 358 Sachs Harbour 118 Tsiigehtchic 192 Tuktoyaktuk 1,058 Ulukhaktok 471 Dehcho region 3,325 Fort Liard 515 Fort Providence 736 Fort Simpson 1,335 Hay River Dene Reserve 274 Jean Marie River 69 Kakisa 45 Nahanni Butte 87 Sambaa K'e 108 Wrigley 135 Sahtu region 2,704 Colville Lake 154 Deline 666 Fort Good Hope 591 Norman Wells 763 Tulita 530 South Slave region 7,009 Enterprise 93 Fort Resolution 523 Fort Smith 2,530 Hay River 3,449 Lutsel K'e 344 Tlichǫ region 3,059 Behchoko 2,034 Gametı̀ 282 Wekweetı̀ 122 Whatı̀ 621 Yellowknife region 21,853 Dettah 211 Yellowknife 21,362 Yellowknife unorganized: 280 Source: NWT Bureau of Statistics