Half a million Canadians live less than 5 metres above sea level: StatCan

According to a new report from Statistics Canada, a growing number of people are heading to Canada's shores to be closer to the beaches, scenery and mild temperatures.
In 2021, more than 3.2 million people on the West Coast and 2.2 million on the East Coast will live within 10 kilometers of a coastline, the report, released Friday, said.
The Bureau of Statistics says living near ocean and coastal ecosystems "has many benefits."
     However, there are growing concerns about how coastal communities are shrinking, with almost half a million Canadians living less than five meters above sea level.
The report notes that communities in many coastal areas of the country are at risk of sea level rise, especially communities living in low-lying areas.
Canadians are closer to the oceans than ever before
In 2021, more than twice as many people lived less than five meters above sea level on the Pacific coast compared to the Atlantic coast.
The population of Canada's coastal communities will grow by 5.3% from 2016 to 2021, representing an increase of 5.5 million people. StatCan says three-quarters of population growth has occurred on the Pacific coast.
According to this report, those who lived within one kilometer of the coastline were equally divided between the west and the east.
British Columbia's southern coastal region — between the mountains of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Mountains — had the largest population growth nationally from 2016 to 2021.
Parts of the Maritime provinces — from northwestern Cumberland County to northeastern Pictou County in Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick — accounted for the remaining increase.
But not every coastline sees an influx of people. The report says Newfoundland's island communities saw a population decline of almost 11,000 people from 2016 to 2021.


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