Arcola may be missing over 200 people in initial census numbers

June 10, 2026, 2:03 pm
Donnie Matichuk

In another instance of a town not being properly counted by the census, the Town of Arcola is left wondering if they’ve been miscounted for years.

Being in the same region, Arcola is experiencing similar issues to Carlyle and Manor.

“We were contacted by the lady that’s doing the census in our area, and she said there was a pile of places missed. She wanted to meet with us and explain what was going on. She figured there was probably around 200 people missed in Arcola alone,” said Mayor Scott Tessier.

“She also told us there were other coverage areas that were being miscounted as well, namely the RM of Brock and Kisbey.”

Tessier said that new construction in Arcola may have been missed in not only this census, but the last one in 2021 as well.

“It sounds like most of the missed people would have been in Arcola. It seems like they missed our new subdivisions, and the walking route that she was given didn’t have entire streets on it.

“It is newer housing, but it should have been counted in the last census too because it was built before that. So we’re starting to wonder what they missed in the last census as well.”

He said that the area census taker is working to make corrections and get the correct figures shortly.

“She also said she was going to set up some dates to get everyone. I believe she has until mid-July. She’s doing Carlyle too, and so she set up a date with Carlyle where she is at their town hall so that people can come and fill out paper copies if they’d like. She is hoping to do the same thing in Arcola, and to invite Kisby people and RM people.”

Tessier said that the Town is beginning to be skeptical of the data from the 2021 census as well.

“We’re starting to think that the last correct census we have had was back in 2016, when our numbers increased quite a bit.

“Since the 2016 census, our number has been either flat or gone down. I’m wondering if they’re just continuing to do the census to the same houses and not getting any of these new houses, or are they like missing the same people every time?”

He said that there were very significant figures that couldn’t have been correct even five years ago.

“The 2021 census says there’s an average of two people per household in Arcola. We have a lot of big families here. It also said there was a total of 150 dwellings in the RM of Brock and Arcola together. In Arcola alone from our data there are over 300 houses.”

There is also a large amount of funding and grants that Arcola could be missing out on from the Municipal Revenue Sharing program.

“In Arcola, we would lose out on about $320 worth of funding per person, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it adds up if that’s $320 for 200 missing people. Especially if that’s been every year for the last decade. In small towns you need every dollar you can get.”

Tessier even mentioned how these kinds of errors could effect the rest of the province.

“Think about if they did this all across Saskatchewan, then you’re under counting your population, and you end up with less representation in politics, too. It can be a really far-reaching problem.”

He said that the economic impact in the future could be large for the whole area due to the miscounts.

“Lots of businesses rely on census numbers to decide where they’re going to set up shop. They could be completely bypassing Arcola or the area because we aren’t a large enough population center.”

The town is working on getting their own independent population data to further back up their findings.

“We are planning to try and do our own internal count as best as we can, so that we could actually have something to compare the census to. I think that would be happening relatively soon.”

The day or days that the census taker will be in Arcola may not be for a while, as they are hoping to find a suitable date to get the most people.

“As for the date that the census taker will be in town, there hasn’t been anything concrete set up yet. Carlyle was hoping to do their’s during Fun Dayz, so we were thinking probably during our fair or the rodeo, or something when people are coming into town anyway.”

Residents can get information from the town office if they are having problems with the census.

“Right now, online is really the only option to file your census. But, if you can get in contact with our census taker through the town office, she can hopefully get you some information.”

However, even the online version of the census can have it’s issues.
“The biggest problem with online is that, even if you can get on and get through, your address may not be recognized by the website and it won’t let you fill out the census.”

Tessier also said that there are residents who feel that the census breaches their rights to privacy. He urges them that filling out the census helps their community.

“There’s always some people that are not wanting to fill it out because they don’t think the government should have their information, but all we care about is, for the most part, the population count. As long as they go on and say, how many people are in their household, that’s all we really need from them.”

The town office says that they can assist anyone that reaches out for help with the census.

“We would be willing to help anyone that needs it with the census if they reach out to the town office. Filling out your census helps up get the funding we need in town.”