Statistics Canada’s latest 2021 census data released on Wednesday, Aug 17 shows the population of native Dutch and German speakers as the city’s largest growing demographics.
There are 110 Kimberley residents whose mother tongue is German, which grew from 90 speakers recorded during the 2016 census.
There are 35 Kimberley residents whose mother tongue is Dutch, growing from 15 in 2016.
Czech speakers also grew from zero in 2016 to 15 last year.
English speakers make up the majority of residents, with 7,830 people in Kimberley speaking English as their first official language. There are 140 people who speak French as their first official language, up from 55 in 2016. Five people in Kimberley do not speak English or French.
READ: Census data shows linguistic diversity on the rise in Canada
There are 15 Italian speakers in Kimberley, down from 20 in 2016. There are also five Portuguese and 10 Spanish speakers in Kimberley.
Other highlights from the report include:
- A slight increase in Japanese speaking folks, the 2021 census shows 10, while 2016 reported five. The same goes for Korean speakers. Mandarin speakers also increased, with 15 in 2021 - up from 10 in 2016.
- The number of people who speak Korean also decreased from 10 to five. 2016 shows no Yue (Cantonese) speakers, which increased to five in 2021.
- Only five people said they speak an Indigenous language as their mother tongue in both the 2016 and 2021 census.
- Last year there were 10 Ukrainian speakers in Kimberley, which is up from five in 2016. That number is likely changed due to the arrival of refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war. There were also five Russian speakers last year, the same as the previous census.
With files from Black Press reporter Tyler Harper.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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