Statistics Canada:Manitoba population right, it didn’t miss 18,000 people

WINNIPEG – Statistics Canada is disputing a claim by the Manitoba government that it missed 18,000 people in the last census.

Manitoba Finance Minister Jennifer Howard has said the province could lose out on $500 million in federal transfer payments because of the discrepancy.

But Jane Badets (Bad-ettes), with StatsCan, says Manitoba had one of the highest response rates in Canada in the 2011 census.

She says StatsCan uses a complex methodology to make up for any people who might be missed — something that was agreed to by all provinces.

Using that system, Badets says the agency actually added almost 22,000 people to Manitoba’s population.

Conservative Leader Brian Pallister says no other province is disputing the population figures and says the government could have raised this issue months ago.