Population
Sunshine Coast Regional
District: Population 13,099 as calculated by the 2001 Census. Comprises unincorporated
areas such as Area A / Pender Harbour/Egmont (2,374), Area B / Halfmoon Bay (2,353), Area
D / Roberts Creek (3,090), Area E / Elphinstone (3,311) and Area F / West Howe Sound (1,971).
The SCRD was incorporated in 1967; the main population centers of the Sunshine Coast
Regional District are Gibsons and Sechelt. The main economic activity in the area is
logging, pulp and paper, tourism and retirement-related services.
The average age on the Sunshine Coast in the 2001 Census was 41.7. This compares to
the provincial average of 37.8 and the national average of 37.0.
The % Age Distribution (2001 Census) are: years 0-14 at 17.8%; years 15-24 at 9.8%;
years 25-44 at 23.7%; years 45-64 at 30.0% and years 65+ at 18.8%.
The average income in 2000 was $38,971. This compares with the average income in
British Columbia of $42,121.
Gibsons: Population 3,732. Perched over Howe Sound, the Town of Gibsons at the
southern end of the Sunshine Coast was featured in the long-running CBC-TV series The
Beachcombers. Gibsons is the commercial boating centre of the area with its large
government dock and protected harbour.
The Town of Gibsons was incorporated in 1929. Gibsons has a total land area of 4.32 square
km (2001 Census). By ferry and highway the town is 25 km west of Vancouver and 23 km
southeast of Sechelt.
Sechelt: Population 7,343. At the heart of the Sunshine Coast, the Corporation of
the District of Sechelt sits on a spit of land, an isthmus, between the outside waters of
the Georgia Strait and a series of the inlets that comprise Sechelt Inlet, known as the
Inland Sea.
The District Municipality was incorporated in 1956. Sechelt has a total land area of 39.761
square km (2001 Census). By highway the District is 23 km northwest of Gibsons and 87 km
southeast of Powell River by highway and ferry.
Sechelt Indian Government District: Population 769. The Sechelt Indian Band was the
first in Canada to achieve self-government and municipal status. The community is located
within the Sechelt municipality, but is administered separately.
During the frame of 1987 to 1991 the Sunshine Coast population increased by 27%; by the
year 2004 the population is expected to reach 34,000, an increase of 31%. The age of the
population is distributed almost equally between 0-60+ age groups. More than 20% of the
Sunshine Coast tax filers are over age 64, compared to the BC average of 15%. The total
number of dwellings was about 8,230 at the end of 1990 and the average household size of
2.49 is slightly lower than the BC average. The retirement population accounts for about
30%.
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