2021 Census: County of Essex Continues to Grow

The County of Essex continues to be an attractive place for people to live, work and play, according to 2021 Census of Population numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

The population of Windsor and Essex County as a region now crests 400,000, increasing six per cent from 398,718 in 2016 to 422,630 in 2021.

Residents moving to the County of Essex fuelled that increase, with the total population of the County’s municipalities rising 6.1 per cent from 181,530 in 2016 to 192,700 in 2021. The city’s population increased 5.7 per cent from 217,188 to 229,660.

Lakeshore led Essex County municipalities in population growth, rising 10.4 per cent from a population of 36,611 in 2016 to 40,140 in 2021. Next up was LaSalle, rising 8.4 per cent from 30,180 to 32,721, followed by Leamington, rising 7.6 per cent from 27,595 to 29,680.

County of Essex Population Increases:

Canada’s population grew at almost twice the rate of every other G7 country from 2016 to 2021, rising 5.2 per cent from 2016 to just under 37 million people in 2021. That increase was largely attributable to immigration, which accounted for nearly four-fifths of the population gain over this period.

The pace of immigration slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with most of the population growth occurring from 2016 to 2019. In fact, in 2019 Canada recorded a record annual increase of 1.6 per cent or 583,000 people.

Ontario’s rate of growth surpassed the national rate, increasing 5.8 per cent from 2016 to just over 14.2 million people in 2021. The province welcomed almost twice as many permanent and temporary immigrants from 2016 to 2021 compared to the previous five-year census cycle.

Local Dwellings and Population Density Changes