Port Moody Dept: Port Moody, Coquitlam and Surrey were the fastest-growing communities in the 2011 census, with some neighbourhoods in those cities doubling or tripling their population between 2006 and 2011, according to data released Wednesday, according to Vancouver Sun. While growth was more vigorous than expected in the Tri-Cities, it is consistent with the regional growth strategy, which calls for development to be centred along transit corridors and town centres and metro Vancouver continues to lure new migrants and suck residents from B.C's rural towns, but it appears most people are skipping Vancouver in favour of settling in the Tri-Cities or neighbourhoods south of the Fraser. Port Moody experienced 19.9-per-cent growth during this five-year period, followed by Surrey with 18.6 per cent. Vancouver's growth rate, meanwhile, sat at 4.4 per cent, with population increases concentrated in its downtown core, Mount Pleasant and Fairview. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Circle Of Friends Dept: And when her husband s job kept him absent for nine of the first 12 months of Ella s life, that really cemented it for me, she said. Could I do it with throwing another baby in the mix? The answer to that was definitely, No way, Jose. The Solomons two-kid family is typical among their circle of friends in Ottawa. Indeed, couples with just one or two children have become the norm in Canada, part of a trend of steadily dwindling family size that has been going on since the early 1960s, according to Globe and Mail. Canada s birth rate is currently hovering around 1.67 children per woman, well below the minimum of 2.0 needed for natural population replacement. We knew with Ryan s naval career that there were going to be a lot of periods of time when I would be by myself, said Ms. Solomon, the 39-year-old stay-at-home mother of Aidan, 9, and Ella, 6. They re not alone, according to population projections Statistics Canada released Wednesday as part of the first release of data from the 2011 census. On its current trajectory, the numbers suggest, Canada s growth rate could be almost entirely dependent on immigration within 50 years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Dept: Whether Melanie is mentally ill or just troubled would depend on who you ask. She holds down a job, but her social anxiety and petty fibbing are debilitating. That s Very Observant of You is both the story s title and the snide comment from a waiter that breaks her from her shell. The closing dialogue largely an indignant burst of monologue from Melanie rounds the tale off smartly, according to Globe and Mail. In Maybe You Should Get Back Here , Max and Nadia share a bed. With them lives Chris, Max s old college roommate. They cook and eat and watch TV together, tossing out their usual affectionate or testy sarcasms. Lately, a household shift is occurring or is Max just imagining it? He forces a change. The premise is not surprising here, but Hayes s storytelling, eschewing closure, finally is and next up is The Maladjusted , offering a completely convincing journey into manageable mental illness. Among his anti-social eccentricities, Mike collects discarded furniture, fashioning it into elaborate tunnels and mazes in his apartment as a challenge to his social worker. No mental slouch, Mike engages in Kantian thought experiments and discovers a talent for chess that proves worth developing. Green Jerseys filters a Toronto Greek immigrant s work as a teaching assistant through a sports metaphor. Gus s school time makes for some of his happiest moments, and also his most frustrating; his English fluency is shaky while his teaching quirks rub superiors the wrong way. He comes to realize that, in the guise of career development, his boss is pushing him out. Hayes doesn t take sides. The story s dilemmas flow inevitably from its deft grappling with human foibles. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Minnesota Dept: To be sure, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum steamrolled to victory on Tuesday because he is a candidate tailor-made for the hard-core anti-abortion activists and evangelicals who braved the cold winter night in Minnesota and Colorado. They typically have a disproportionate voice in caucuses, where turnout is low and passion trumps all, according to Globe and Mail. And he swept the Republican races in Colorado and Minnesota, beating Mr. McCain by 42 percentage points in one state and by 19 in the other. But those states typically count for little in Republican nomination politics and yet, Tuesday s overwhelming rejection of Mr. Romney by social conservatives in the party does make one wonder whether he could ever woo enough of the Republican base to give President Barack Obama a run for his money in November. In 2008, Mr. Romney benefited from rampant anybody-but-John McCain sentiment in Minnesota and Colorado. Compared to the Arizona senator, who once pushed citizenship for illegal immigrants and voted against George W. Bush s sweeping tax cuts, Mr. Romney was considered the conservative alternative to Mr. McCain back then. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

The Canadian Economy Dept: Tens of thousands of people from Ontario once the engine of the Canadian economy packed their bags for other provinces. Alberta and Saskatchewan, with their booming resource economies, were the biggest draw, according to Globe and Mail. All of this strikes at the core of heated policy debates that Mr. Harper triggered with two major announcements in recent months: that provincial health-care transfers will be capped to grow in line with the economy, and that Ottawa is considering a gradual increase in the eligibility age for Old Age Security to 67 from 65 and the first round of data from the 2011 census gives Mr. Harper plenty to work with as he makes his case for these sweeping reforms. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada confirms that the aging of Canada s population will be most pronounced during this decade and the next. Then, from 2031 to 2061, population growth could slow to near zero. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ontario Dept: TORONTO - When Ontario, long considered the engine of the Canadian economy, sputtered to an unceremonious stop in 2008 and 2009, a lot of people got out and walked many of them westward, fresh census numbers released Wednesday suggest, according to Winnipeg Free Press. In depth: The Census An empty playground in a area is surrounded by abandoned homes in a once vibrant city of Windsor, Ont., on Thursday, January 26, 2012. Windsor was one of the worst hit Ontario cities during the last recession. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette For decades a beacon of possibility for new immigrants, Canada's manufacturing heartland posted population growth of just 5.7 per cent, down from 6.6 per cent during the previous five years and the lowest growth rate since 1981-1986, another period of economic upheaval. Census 2011 (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Census Dept: In depth: The Census, according to Winnipeg Free Press. INTERACTIVE: Census Explorer Ann Solomon with her daughter Ella,6, and son Aidan, 9, pose for a photo on Wednesday February 1,2011, in Orleans, Ont. Couples with just one or two have become the norm in Canada, par of a trend of steadily dwindling family size that has been going on since the early 1960s. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand Census 2011 Explore the numbers and see how different regions of Canada compare and have changed since the last census in 2006. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Dept: Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people, provoked tears and laughter in the packed court as he gave a far-right salute and said he had carried out the massacre to prevent his country's cultural destruction, according to Montreal Gazette. She said the court appearance helped her realize that the anti-Islam fanatic "can't hurt me any more." Survivors and relatives of those killed in a Norwegian mass-murder rampage wept and ridiculed the smiling attacker in court on Monday as he defended his acts by issuing a tirade against immigration. "The way he talked, the way he smiled ... everything made me realize that no one has the same picture of the world as he does," said Helene Georgsen, 17, who survived Breivik's shooting spree. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ella Palter Dept: EDMONTON - Jay Palter s impression of life in Alberta was typical for a lifelong Toronto resident: wheat fields, oil derricks and dusty cowboys riding off into the sunset, according to Winnipeg Free Press. In depth: The Census Torontonian turned Westerner Jay Palter walks with his kids Ella Palter and Ben Palter in a park near their home in Edmonton Alberta. The family moved to Edmonton two and a half years and are enjoying the Western Canadian lifestyle. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson After three years of living in Edmonton, it feels more like riding towards a new dawn. Census 2011 (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

National Arts Centre Dept: A couple of decades later, Falardeau returned to the NAC for a gala screening of his film and to fret about what he's going to wear at the Oscars, according to CTV. His cotton shirt and weathered jeans made it clear he cares little for what distinguishes Dolce and Gabbana from the Gap and oTTAWA Phillippe Falardeau was dreaming of a political career rather than a career as an Academy Award-nominated director when he worked as an usher at the National Arts Centre. The whirlwind of interviews, schmoozing and travelling unleashed since Monsieur Lazhar was put on Oscar's shortlist has left little time for selecting and getting fitted for his tux for the Feb. 26 ceremony. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.