Who Owns the Sunshine Coast?

[Skook]

Census Data - and where the action is.

There is a lot of interesting information in census data, but it can also be quite confusing, too (I still haven’t got a handle on all the ‘income’ categories). So, I started organizing some of the data in tables with the intent of showing population levels throughout the coast and how those levels translated into the types of dwellings being built over the last decade. I then created charts from those tables and they are below.

The other day when I looked at those charts I thought I could somehow support Landcor’s figures on non-resident ownership; however, after posting that new thread above, I looked at my charts again and realized I was wrong. I am sure that support is there, but it is buried across many different census categories.

Stats Canada main criteria for a census is ‘Occupied’ dwelling and if it is a primary residence or not. It doesn’t matter what type of dwelling as long as it is a self-contained unit with a separate entrance. If it is your primary residence, you will then be counted in the census for that area whether you own it or not. (Lines can be blurred here, too, because I know someone with a home in Ladner but now that he is retired spends 9 months of the year at his boat-access property on the coast. His wife, on the other hand, probably splits the year evenly - so, where have they been counted in the census? I also know someone with a home In Sechelt who has a boat-access property near Egmont. Also, an older couple who raised all their children in a boat-access community but when the winters got too difficult that couple purchased a condo in Burnaby to spend those difficult months near their children who have all settled in the lower mainland.)

Stats Can takes that ‘Occupied’ data and breaks it down into ‘owner-occupied’ and ‘rented’ (I have not used this information in my charts). It will also take that ‘Occupied’ dwelling and separate it into the ‘Type’ of dwelling (here, I did take the ‘Single-detached’ information and grouped the remaining types (attached, apartment, mobile, etc.) as ‘Other.’

Now, Stats Can did something new beginning in the 2006 census which was to count the ‘Total’ dwellings in a census area (basically, anything inhabitable with that separate door) and I have used this information in the left hand chart for each area along with the number of ‘Occupied’ dwellings. The right hand chart shows ‘single detached’ and ‘other’ dwellings. Over both charts, I have overlaid population results.

Again, the purpose of the charts is to show what areas are showing growth (full-time resident, recreational or, perhaps, investment) and how that growth translates into what is being built and lived in. As for that Landcor data on non-resident ownership, I guess it will just have to be accepted at face value.

To recap:
Area F - West Howe Sound (includes Gambier, Keats, Trail Bay, Thormanby and North Thormanby Islands)
Area E - Elphinstone
Area D - Roberts Creek
Area B - Halfmoon Bay
Area A - Egmont & Pender Harbour

To see all the communities included in these areas, you can revisit the map in the ‘Local Government’ thread.

The charts for most areas seem straight forward to me; however, I find Area F mystifying and this is likely due to the fact I have never travelled east of Langdale nor on the islands that make up the Gambier Island Trust. The charts indicate first a rise in population and then a decrease of almost the same amount and the same occurring for single detached homes. Howe Sound Pulp & Paper is located here and it is definitely a ‘boom or bust’ industry. Perhaps, growth occurred during a boom and then workers and their families left the area during the ‘bust.’ Also, people buying up recreational properties on the islands could have torn down older multiple dwellings and put up single new ones. Also, in the early 2000s there were many more mobile homes on the coast and this could explain why in many areas you see a drop in ‘Other’ dwellings.

It is important to note here that the SC has seen a significant drop in families with young children and charts showing this can be found in the Sunshine Coast Credit Union report mentioned in the post above. As a result, the School Board has begun to amalgamate schools. In the Pender Harbour area, the elementary school now only serves grades 1-3 and those in grades 4-6 have been moved over to the high school which previously served grades 7-12. The loss of school age children up and down the coast will definitely be reflected in those population levels shown in the charts.

Finally, SCRD charts are an overview of all the combined areas.