EXCERPT [re children in communities]

… Statistics Canada released figures Tuesday showing B.C. is home to some of the most elderly communities in Canada, including several where more than a third of the population is aged 65 and over.

New data from the 2006 national census reveals …

In the mining town of Trail, the number of children has dropped 13 per cent over the past five years…

While Tuesday's census figures show B.C. dominates the list of most elderly cities and towns, a few of the province's municipalities also made the list of the nation's youngest.

Abbotsford is the third-youngest big city in the country with fully one-fifth of its residents 14 and younger.

And Fort St. John is the nation's ninth-youngest mid-sized city, with 21.7 per cent of its residents 14 and younger.

According to Statistics Canada, B.C. has historically had an older population than the rest of the country, a product of our higher life expectancy and lower birth rate. And that trend is continuing. Between 2001 and 2006, according to the census, the number of B.C. residents 65 and over jumped 12.5 per cent while the number of children 14 and younger dropped 3.7 per cent.

B.C.'s median age -- the point at which exactly half of the population is older and half is younger -- also surpassed 40 for the first time in 2006 and now stands at 40.8….

Several communities in B.C. have seen dramatic changes in their population since the 2001 census.