EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Area

Population
= = = =	In 2001, the Census of Canada showed this area's population to be 25,781. Of this population, 9,469 (36.7%) live in downtown or suburban areas, and 16,312 (63.3%) live in a rural setting. The average density of population is 1.8 persons per square km. In 2001, the median age in the study area was 32.6, with the majority of the population in the 5 to 19 age group 11,641 people (62.0% of those 15 years and over) are currently married.
Households and Families
= =	The number of households in this area is 8,080. Of these, 76.8% are single families, 0.3# are multiple families, and 23.1% are non-family households. Of the 6,311 families in the area, 5,770 are married or common law couples; 3,368 of the couples have one or more children at home. There are 562 single-parent families. Altogether, there are 8,796 children living in the area, an average of 1.4 children per family
Dwellings
= = = =	There are 8,079 occupied dwelling units in this area, of which 6,340 (78.5%) are owner-occupied, and 1,728 are rented. The average value of housing units in 2001 was $103,000. Most of the dwellings in this area are single-detached houses (84.5%) or movable dwelling (5.9%) and were built in the years 1946 to 1960 (22.6%) 850 dwelling units (10.5%) are considered to be in need of major repairs.
Income
= =	The average household income in this area in year 2000 was $52,898, and the median income was $46,165. In Canada, the average household income was $58,360, and the median was $47,071. 486 families in this area (8% of all families) are considered to be low-income families.
Language, Mobility and Immigration
= = = =	In the 2001 Census, 20,520 people (80.8) reported English as their home language and 10 people (0.0%) reported French. The dominant non-official home language, German is spoken by 1,752 people, followed by Japanese, spoken by 55. According to the 2001 census, 3,124 people (12%) had moved to their current address in the previous year, and 7,803 people (33%) had moved in the preceding five years. 567 people (2%) had moved from outside of Canada in the five year period. The dominant place of birth for recent (1996-2001) immigrants was Mexico, followed by South Korea
Labour Force and Industry
= =	Most (33%) of the 12,747 workers living in the area are employed in the Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry. 2,517 of workers(20%) usually commute to a different "Census Subdivision", while 4,058 (33%) commute within the local area. 4,236 people work at home. 7,273 people (90% of commuters) travel by car, truck or van, while 19 (0%) use public transit.
Education
= =	1,063 people (43%) in the 15-24 year age group attend school either full-time or part time. Of the population 20 years and older, 1,109 (7%) have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 4,444 (27%) have a technical or academic certificate or diploma. 8,911 people over 20 years old have not received post-secondary education, of these, 2,318 graduated from secondary school.