The 2021 census has been released and that means it is time to dive right into some population trends. The Atlantic provinces in general have seen a substantial amount of growth from 2016 to 2021 and this post will go into more detail about Nova Scotia.
Halifax has seen the largest increase in population both as a percentage and in absolute terms. Of the 18 Census Divisions in Nova Scotia, 12 have increased in population while only 6 have decreased.
| Region | Population 2016 | Population 2021 | Population Difference | Population Difference % |
| Halifax | 403,390 | 440,072 | 36,682 | 9.09 |
| Hants | 42,558 | 45,140 | 2,582 | 6.07 |
| Victoria | 7,089 | 7,441 | 352 | 4.97 |
| Antigonish | 19,301 | 20,129 | 828 | 4.29 |
| Kings | 60,600 | 62,914 | 2,314 | 3.82 |
| Annapolis | 20,591 | 21,252 | 661 | 3.21 |
| Lunenburg | 47,126 | 48,599 | 1,473 | 3.13 |
| Yarmouth | 24,419 | 24,947 | 528 | 2.16 |
| Cumberland | 30,005 | 30,538 | 533 | 1.78 |
| Colchester | 50,585 | 51,476 | 891 | 1.76 |
| Queens | 10,351 | 10,501 | 150 | 1.45 |
| Inverness | 17,235 | 17,346 | 111 | 0.64 |
| Pictou | 43,748 | 43,657 | -91 | -0.21 |
| Cape Breton | 98,722 | 98,318 | -404 | -0.41 |
| Richmond | 8,964 | 8,914 | -50 | -0.56 |
| Digby | 17,323 | 17,062 | -261 | -1.51 |
| Shelburne | 13,966 | 13,704 | -262 | -1.88 |
| Guysborough | 7,625 | 7,373 | -252 | -3.30 |
Which areas have seen high growth?
The census division with the highest population growth was Halifax. Census divisions are quite large, Halifax being no exception. Moving deeper into which parts of this census division saw the most growth, the top three areas were located in and around the city of Halifax.
Bedford
To the north-west of Halifax, Bedford has seen a population growth of 5,828 from 7,185 in 2016 to 13,013 in 2021.
North-West Halifax / Bedford South
The area within Halifax that has seen the second highest population growth is North-West Halifax / Bedford South. This area has seen a growth of 3,017 residents from 7,362 in 2016 to 10,379 in 2021. New “dissemination areas” have also been added.
Halifax Waterfront
The area with the third highest increase in population is on the waterfront near Halifax Citadel. This relatively small area has seen growth of 2,425 residents from 2,778 in 2016 to 5,203 in 2021, an increase of more than 87%.
Other Areas
In general, most of the city of Halifax has seen growth between 2016 and 2021.
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