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Population and Housing
According to Jeff O and the Canadian Census the region is attracting a smaller share of immigrants now than it has in the past. I found this surprising considering that the local tech industry seems to be hiring readily. Another factor that could be that during the previous census period RIM/BlackBerry was in it's hiring heyday and may have had a strong influence on attracting immigrants here.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/768...mmigrants/
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The numbers of immigrants have been pretty static for the past 15 years, have they not?
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The note of the Region getting a small proportion of Canada's total immigration is a weird one to pick for a headline (1 of 57 in 2001, 1 of 86 now). It doesn't really say much without other stats to compare to. Are we getting worse? Or are other places just getting better?

Notable stats:

Quote:This region added 14,045 immigrants between 2011 and 2016. It's the fewest number to settle here in the last three censuses. Immigration to Canada soared by 30 per cent over the same period.
The number of visible minorities has more than doubled since 2001 to reach 100,025 residents.
Visible minorities represent 19 per cent of the regional population today, up from 10 per cent in 2001, census findings show. "I believe that we all benefit from diversity," Harrison said.

Really interesting these.
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It would be interesting to cross-reference these with other stats. For instance, if a visible minority immigrates to Toronto prior to 2011 for secondary school, then comes here for school and then stays, do they still count as an immigrant when the census comes around?

Similarly, I'd be interested to know of that 14,045 that arrived from 2011 to 2016, what fields did they end up in? I suspect a broad mix. On the other hand if there is a shortage of jobs that either don't require Canadian credentials or for which credentials are relatively quick to get (think taxi driver, or personal support worker), then that could limit a larger wave of immigrants being attracted to the Region.
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(10-27-2017, 12:58 PM)nms Wrote: It would be interesting to cross-reference these with other stats.  For instance, if a visible minority immigrates to Toronto prior to 2011 for secondary school, then comes here for school and then stays, do they still count as an immigrant when the census comes around?

Similarly, I'd be interested to know of that 14,045 that arrived from 2011 to 2016, what fields did they end up in? I suspect a broad mix.  On the other hand if there is a shortage of jobs that either don't require Canadian credentials or for which credentials are relatively quick to get (think taxi driver, or personal support worker), then that could limit a larger wave of immigrants being attracted to the Region.

They would still be first generation (visible minority or otherwise), so yes.
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Statscan does track migration within/between provinces/CMAs, etc. You just have to find the right tables:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-209-x/20...04-eng.htm
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Kitchener Post article regarding current building permit trends and other details highlighting developments in the City of Kitchener.

https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/...-s-growth/
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I found this part interesting:  

Quote:Yet the city’s intensification level of 37 per cent this past year is expected to remain steady or decrease during the next several years, as new subdivisions are built-out in greenfield areas.

As it stands, the city’s five-year average intensification level sits at 44 per cent, much closer to the region’s target of 45 per cent. Kitchener’s 2018 growth monitoring report shows the city’s current “built-up area” land supply includes potential capacity for approximately 17,500 more dwelling units with 33,667 residents, 1.5 million square metres of non-residential floor space and 40,739 additional jobs by the year 2031.

Together with estimated greenfield area supply in outlying areas where significant plans of subdivisions are already underway, the city has room for more than 38,000 residential units and 86,000 residents, with close to 1.9 million square metres of non-residential space to help accommodate more than 50,000 new jobs.


Obviously we know that things are hot in the downtown core, but do the declining numbers signify a cooling or a heating up of suburban development?  I can't help but think it's the latter.  

I remember a couple years there was a big OMB issue over how much land Kitchener/The Region was going to release to developers.  I wonder if that being settled, we're finally seeing these projects come on line.
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I always remember Places to Grow saying that 40% of new development needed to be in existing neighbourhoods. Was that a goal or a mandate?
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(12-07-2018, 10:07 AM)Spokes Wrote: Obviously we know that things are hot in the downtown core, but do the declining numbers signify a cooling or a heating up of suburban development?  I can't help but think it's the latter.  

There was a rush to get projects in place before fees and costs and such changed - I can never remember exactly what that deadline was about. It may have created a false bump in downtown projects. (I don't have enough knowledge for this to be anything other than speculation.)
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It was something about development charges being waived or reduced, but I thought the deadline for that was in 2019
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Development charges waived in the Downtown area for projects approved by Feb 28, 2019, I believe.
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Oh so it's really soon. I wasn't sure when in 2019 so I think I just defaulted to the end of the year
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According to that article Kitchener's estimated population for mid 2018 is 253,800, almost 17,000 higher than the signs posted around the city.
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I feel like they haven't changed in quite some time
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