Much of this information has been reduce graphs which illustrate the population factors. d to maps and distribution of the various The following table shows the growth of population in the four main political divisions of the Northwest: Growth of Population Region 1911 1921 1931 1941 \ Northern Alberta(!)............ 7,190 | 23,411 | 47,447 57,545 Northern British Columbia (?)....] 21,320 | 31,008 37,796 41,628 Northwest Territories (Ores a6 = 4,338 5,428 6,210 8,206 RYAUKGTIR ELS eea ae een le 8,512 4,157 4,230 4,914 AL Ocal ae yee meyer 41,360 | 64,004 95,683 | 112,293 () Includes Census Divisions 15, 16, 17 (?) Includes Census Divisions, 8 (part), 9, 10. (*) Computed as two-thirds of whole Northwest Territories figures. The table illustrates the rapid increase in population in the Peace River District during the decade 1911-21, when the lands were first settled. This rate of increase has flattened out in the past decade, since the better lands are now occupied. Northern British Columbia was settled earlier, and 50 years ago had a population greater than the total of the other three areas. This population has only doubled since that time, and now constitutes only one-third of the total regional population. Both the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory have much smaller populaticns. In the Northwest Terri tories the white population is actually a minority. Although the whites there have increased a few thousand in recent years, due chiefly to the mining industry, the increase in native population is mainly a result of a more accurate count during later census tabulations. In Yukon, the white population declined rapidly following the close of the Klondike gold rush, and for the past two decades has been fairly well stabilized at about 4,000 people. There was a large influx of people into the Yukon during the war years, and although most have since left, there were still about 7,000 in the Territory at the end of 1945. Although the four main political regions of the area have increased their population during the decade 1931-41, this increase has not been uniform throughout, and in some local areas there has actually been a decline. In central and north-central British Columbia (Finlay-Parsnip Valleys), and in farnorthern Alberta, the population has increased 40 to 60 per cent in the past 10 years. On the other hand, the littoral north and south of Prince Rupert and the adjoining inland area have suffered a reduction in population of 10 to 30 per cent. The greatest percentage decrease is found in the Portland Canal area, due to the decline in mining developments. Typical of fluctuations in mining populations, however, this decline has been balanced by a large increase in the Quesnel mining area of central British Columbia. In the Northwest [138 ] a Territories, the 25 to 40 per cent increase shown for the whole Territory is actually found almost wholly in the mining centre of Yellowknife. Typical of a pioneer area, in all of the Canadian North- west the present population shows an excess of males. In some of the remote sections of northern British Columbia - there is an excess of over 40 males per 100 population. In the regions of agricultural settlement, particularly in northern Alberta, this preponderance of males is less (about 8 to 15 per 100), and the percentage has declined during the past decade. In Yukon Territory, men are 25 to 40 per cent more numerous than women, as is to be expected in a region in which mining and trapping are the chief activities of the population. The Northwest Territories only had an excess of 8 to 15 males per 100 in 1931, much less than the other pioneer areas, but this was due to the high percentage of natives, and their families, constituting the Northwest Territories total. The increase in males there by 1941 was principally among the whites, as miners and prospectors entered Canada’s latest pioneer region in increasing numbers. The 1941 statistics reflect the figures showing an excess of males in the fact that 55 per cent of the total population was single, and 38 per cent was married. There has been only a slight increase in the population of married status since 1931, and that occurred chiefly in the Peace River District. The Northwest is being settled by young people. In 1941 about 45 per cent of the population was under 20 years of age, and the next largest group was the 15 per cent who were between 20 and 30 years old. Only 8 per cent of the population was over 60 years of age, of whom many were old-time settlers and prospectors in Yukon. The distribution of age groups varied regionally within the area. The Northwest Territories and northern Alberta have the highest percentage of persons under 20 years of age, and Yukon and northern British Columbia, which were settled earlier, have a greater percentage of population over 50 years. Birth rates reached their highest peak in northern Alberta during the period 1930-35, exceeding a figure of 25 births per 1,000 population. Death rates have remained fairly constant, at about 9 per 1,000. Birth rates have fluctuated more in northern British Columbia, and are lower than in Alberta, while death rates are higher (10 to 12 per 1,000). Infant mortality has gradually decreased in northern Alberta since 1926, being about 55 per 1,000 live births in 1941. Infant mortality rates have varied more in northern British Columbia, reaching peaks of 115 per 1,000 live births in 1929 and 1937, and always remaining above 60 per 1,000. This higher rate is no doubt due to the greater scattering of the population in northern British Columbia, and as a result the settlers are farther from medical care and facilities. The Northwest, particularly in the Peace River District, has been settled to a large extent by immigrants from