By Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Lethbridge upgraded to metropolitan status

Feb 8, 2017 | 7:47 AM

OTTAWA – Lethbridge has graduated, in a manner of speaking.

Statistics Canada has elevated the Lethbridge area to a census metropolitan area (CMA), with a population of 117,394, as a result of the 2016 census, up from 105,999 in 2011. The first batch of 2016 results were released Wednesday, Feb. 8.

The official population for the city of Lethbridge is put at 92,729. The CMA population is reached by adding in Coaldale, Coalhurst, Nobleford, Picture Butte, Barons, and rural residents. Previously, the greater Lethbridge area was categorized as a census agglomeration (CA).

Statsics Canada provides the following definition:

“A census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a large urban area (known as the urban core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core. A CA must have an urban core population of at least 10,000.”

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To be included in a CMA or CA, the surrounding municipalities must have a “high degree of integration with the central urban area,” based on commuting patterns.

The city of Lethbridge conducts its own census every year. In 2016 the result was a population of 96,828. This year’s count will take place in April.

Lethbridge is now only the third CMA in Alberta, joining Calgary and Edmonton. Under its new category, it is also the fifth fastest growing CMA in Canada, with a rate of 10.8 per cent, behind Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Regina.

The population of the Calgary CMA is 1,392,609, while Edmonton’s CMA is 1,321,426. Calgary surpassed Ottawa-Gatineau to become the fourth largest metro area in the country, after Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Edmonton is just behind Ottawa-Gatineau.

The CA of Red Deer reports a population of 100,418. Medicine Hat is at 76,522, while Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray) comes in at 73,320. Grande Prairie is at 63,166. Sylvan Lake and Okotoks were the first and third fastest growing census agglomerations in Canada.

Canada’s total population is 35,151,728, an increase of five per cent from 2011. Alberta was the fastest growing province, with an increase of 11.6 per cent to 4,067,175.

Correction Feb. 9: The population figure for the city of Lethbridge has been corrected. The figure used previously did not include residents considered “rural” despite living within city boundaries.