A tale of two ridings
The two ridings in The Tri-City News’ readership area have been politically distinct, although they share a border. While New Westminster-Coquitlam has most often voted for an NDP member of Parliament and Port Moody-Westwood-Coquitlam has been a bastion of support for the Conservatives, you might expect vast dissimilarities in their demographics and income. Surprisingly, they share vary similar characteristics, with a few exceptions. The information below was taken from the 2006 national census and posted by BC Stats (www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca).
PORT MOODY-WESTWOOD-PORT COQUITLAM
Population: 116,555
Median age: 38.1 years
Number of census families: 33,170
4-person census families: 28.5%
Families with 5 or more persons: 9.1%
Average number of children: 1.2
Immigrant share of total pop.: 36%
Top 4 mother-tongue languages spoken:
• English: 63.9%
• Chinese: 12.1%
• Korean: 4.5%
• Persian: 3.2%
Population 15 years and over in the labour force: 69%
Population 25 to 64 years with certificate, diploma or degree: 92.2%
Apprenticeship/trades: 10.7%
College diploma: 21.2%
University certificate, diploma or degree: 34.6%
Average family income (2005): $88,857
Average after-tax family income: $73,448
NEW WESTMINSTER-COQUITLAM
Population: 111,231
Median age: 39.9 years
Number of census families: 30,685
4-person census families: 22.8%
Families with 5 or more persons: 8%
Average number of children: 1.1
Immigrant share of total pop.: 31%
Top 4 mother-tongue languages spoken:
• English: 67.3%
• Chinese: 8.3%
• Korean: 3.1%
• Persian: 1.8%
Population 15 years and over in the labour force: 68.9%
Population 25 to 64 years with certificate, diploma or degree: 91.3%
Apprenticeship/trades: 11.6%
College diploma: 20.8%
University certificate, diploma or degree: 33.7%
Average family income (2005): $83,378
Average after-tax family income: $69,900
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