Saskatchewan government touts 'decade of growth' as StatsCan numbers show population over 1.1M

The Saskatchewan government is celebrating its growing population, as the number of people in the province hit an estimated 1,168,057 in October, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That number reflects growth in the province's population following years of decline.According to Statistics Canada, there were 1,009,613 people in the province back in 1986 previously the highest population recorded in the provincebut the numberdeclined after that, hitting 968,157 in 2006.

"I believe we are now entering a second decade of growth and that Saskatchewan's best days are still ahead," Premier Brad Wall said in a press release, in whichthe government touted a growing population.

The latest estimatesfrom the agency arebased on 2011 census counts, and were adjusted for census net undercoverage and incompletely enumerated First Nationsreserves. The estimated population growth for the period from May 10, 2011, to Oct. 1 of this year thedate of the estimate was added to arrive at the1,168,057 number.

Statistics Canada carries out a reverse record checkto measure census population undercoverage, estimatingthe number of people missed in the census, followingeach census.

Population numbers for the 2016 census, adjusted for undercoverage, will be released in September of next year.