It was a great year for North America in 1867, for that was the year when the first four provinces of what was to become Canada confederated under the British North America Act, laying the foundations for the country that we have today.
According to the latest population statistics for Carlyle from Sask Health, 1,867 is now the number of people considered to be part of this growing community.
While many will be unsurprised perhaps due to the significant growth so evident in the community and the region, nonetheless this number doesn't represent the rock-solid population of the town.
Brenda Jameson, the Chief Operation Officer for E-Health Saskatchewan explains.
"The number is determined by looking at the addresses of people who are registered for Sask Health," Jameson explained. "We have three address types we use: corresponding, where a person's residence is the same as a mailing address; residential; and mailing address."
"Residential information is not a requirement (for Sask Health), so many times, especially in rural areas, a person may just have a mailing address within a community," Jameson said.
"However, we usually see a correlation between a person's mailing address and where it is that they would seek medical services, so these numbers are good for our purposes." Jameson concluded.
Despite the addition of individuals outside the town limits, the significant growth the figure of 1,867 represents over last year's Sask Health population number, a growth of 18.16% to be exact, makes an statement of how vibrant Carlyle has become.
While all age groups have seen growth over the previous year, the most significant gains were seen in people between the ages of 20 and 44 years-of-age, where the population increase of 33.64% more than offset the single digit drops in that age group seen in the preceeding two years.
Sask Health develops these numbers annually, and they are used to determine resource and program distribution.
A more accurate population count of the town, the federal population census, is due to be released in the next month.
The last federal census, released in 2006, put Carlyle's population at 1,260, while the Sask Health number for that same year was 1,458.
