Trends and Characteristics of Rural and Small Town Canada. Working Paper No. 15.

This report summarizes demographic, economic, and social statistics on Canada's rural and small towns through 1989. Rural and small towns include areas with populations of less than 10,000 persons or a population density of less than 400 per square kilometer. The first section examines rural-urban differences in population trends and age structures as well as migration patterns between rural and urban areas. The second section focuses on the labor market and compares rural and urban Canada in terms of labor force participation, employment by industry, and unemployment rates. The last section focuses on social indicators, including rural and urban trends in family income, income inequality, education, literacy levels, and crime rates. Data indicate that while the urbanization of the Canadian population has continued virtually unabated since 1851, the rural population has exhibited steady growth in absolute terms. Although the service sector of rural and small towns has grown in both absolute and relative terms since 1976, primary employment remains concentrated in rural areas. However, the decline in agricultural employment and primary industry employment has led to a decline in the rural share of employment growth. As to social indicators, the lowest average incomes were found in rural areas and small towns with populations less than 30,000. However, rural Canada had the lowest incidence of low-income families, the least extreme income inequality rates, and the lowest crime rates. Educational levels were directly related to population size. For example, the share of the relevant population with some postsecondary education increased with the degree of urbanization. In addition, rural and small towns with populations of less than 5,000 had a higher proportion of individuals over 15 years old with less than a ninth-grade education, when compared to large urban centers. Includes 71 figures, references, and rural population statistics for Canada and its provinces during 1931-86. (LP)