New population signs reflect city's positive growth: Mayor

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker says the newly updated population signs at the city limits reflect positive change and the kind of growth Sault Ste. Marie has been seeking for decades.

The city road signs entering Sault Ste. Marie were recently updated from saying "Population 75,000" to "Population 78,574."

Reached by SooToday via email, Shoemaker said the signs haven't been updated in more than a decade.

"The latest Statistics Canada data shows that our population has increased substantially — reaching the highest level since the 1990s — driven by growth we haven’t experienced since the 1970s," said Shoemaker.

The annual population estimates, released last month, show the city's population in 2023 was 78,574, an increase of 2,560 over the previous year. 

That is almost 4,000 more than the 2021 total of 74,679 — a 5.2 per cent increase over just three years and the highest recorded level since 1996, when confirmed census data put the city's population at 80,054.

"It is a great sign for Sault Ste. Marie that, in our case and for the first time in a long time, this change is positive and reflects the kind of population growth we have been seeking for decades," said Shoemaker. "Municipalities and other government agencies often change population signs following the release of new census data that outlines significant population growth or decline, and the recent data for Sault Ste. Marie warrants updated signage."

Shoemaker said with an aging population there will continue to be a growing number of job opportunities across the community in coming years as an increasing number of Saultites retire.

"To ensure these jobs don’t go unfilled and to avoid losing economic opportunity to other communities with the kind of workforce that employers are seeking, we need population growth and we’re making progress," he said.