Know
Your Region: The Society
The
previous section described how many people live in southwest
Saskatchewan and some of their basic demographic characteristics
such as age and gender. This section also has information about
the people but it is more broadly based and has some information
about ethnic and language diversity within the population, the
nature of family and living arrangements, and about levels of
completed formal
education.
The main findings in this section are summarized below in point
form.
Diversity
• Relative to the province as a whole, the Southwest has
an above-average number of people who report British or German
ancestry and a below-average number reporting Ukrainian or Aboriginal
ancestries.
• At 5% in 2006, the proportion of Saskatchewan residents
who were born outside Canada is relatively small. Although declining,
the Southwest has somewhat more foreign born residents (3.2%)
than in
other rural areas (2.6%).
• In a finding related to immigration, 1.5% of southwest
residents reported in 2006 that they were members of a visible
minority group. This compares with 1.2% in rural areas of Saskatchewan.
• Compared with the province as a whole, there are relatively
few Aboriginal people who live in the Southwest. In 2006, only
2% of the population reported Aboriginal identity compared with
15% for
the province as a whole and almost 20% for rural Saskatchewan.
• Languages for the residents in the Action Southwest
region are similar to those in other parts of Saskatchewan.
In 2006, 84% reported a mother tongue of exclusively English,
6% reporting that
they are bilingual in English and French, and 92% reporting
a home language of exclusively English.
Housing
and Family Structures
• The Action Southwest region has more legally married
adults and fewer singles than other parts of rural Saskatchewan.
• From 2001 to 2006, the number of married couples with
children at home declined by 16% whereas the number without
children at home increased by 3%. There are fewer lone parent
families in the
Southwest than in other parts of Saskatchewan.
• From 1996 to 2006, the population in the region has
fallen by 13% whereas the number of dwellings has declined by
only 5%. Looked at another way, the number of persons per dwelling
fell from 2.5
to 2.3 over the ten years. The physical size of the dwellings
is, however, increasing.
• Single detached dwellings still account for 80% of the
households in the region even though the number of apartments
and other kinds of dwellings is increasing more quickly.
• Four out of five dwellings are owned by the occupant
(with or without a mortgage). The proportion has increased in
the past five years.
• Dwellings in the region tend to be older, on average,
than those in other parts of rural Saskatchewan. For example,
57% were built prior to 1971 compared with 49% for rural Saskatchewan
in general
and 46% in the province as a whole.
• The proportion of dwellings that are in need of major
repairs was 10½% in the Action Southwest region, the
same as in Saskatchewan generally but lower than the 14% in
rural Saskatchewan.
Completed Education
• Relative to other rural areas in the province, the residents
of the Action Southwest region typically have a higher level
of completed education.
• In the primary labour market age group (25 to 64 years),
one half of those in the Action Southwest region are post-secondary
graduates which is above the 48% average in other rural areas
but below
the level in the province as a whole (54%).
• The majority of post-secondary graduates in the Southwest
(74%) received their training in Saskatchewan although the percentage
is lower than in rural Saskatchewan generally (79%) or the province
as a whole (78%). Southwest residents with a post-secondary
education are much more likely than other Saskatchewan residents
to have received their education in Alberta.
• The field of study for post-secondary graduates is similar
to other parts of rural Saskatchewan. A certificate, diploma,
or degree in architecture, engineering, and the related technologies
is the most common credential among those in the region.
more
on... The
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