The big story of the more detailed census data released this week is that Canada has more seniors and than youth for the first time ever.
However Alberta remains one of just three provinces in the country where the young still outnumber the elderly, and Cold Lake is one of its youngest cities.
The average Cold Laker is nearly a full decade younger than the national average at 32.7 to 41. In fact, Cold Lake has a younger population than any of Alberta’s ten largest cities. Not even Wood Buffalo – which contains Fort McMurray- can claim a younger average age.
Of Cold Lake’s nearly 15,000 residents, 3,400 -or a bit over 22 percent – of them are under the age of 14. Of that group, 2,500 of them are under the age of nine. Only 915 residents are over 65, accounting for only 6 percent of the people living in the city.