Brampton, Ontario

Brampton, Ontario is a city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of the Peel Regional Municipality. As of June 2005, Brampton's population stood at approximately 415,000, and it is estimated that by the year 2031, the city population will have almost doubled to 680,000 people. As one of Canada's fastest growing cities, the municipality has found it difficult to cope with its unprecendented growth, in terms of the provision of adequate infrastructure. It celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2003, marking 150 years since its incorporation as a village in 1853, taking its name from the rural village near Chesterfield in England.

Demographics

The City of Brampton has long been considered one of Canada's fastest growing communities. Especially since the 1970s, Brampton's primary growth has constituted of immigrants. Recently, population growth has consisted of mainly Asian Canadians

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The city of Brampton has an extremely fast growth rate considerably among those who are Asian Canadian as they constitute the largest visible minority population. From 1996 to 2001, the East Indian population jumped from 34,000 to 63,000 in a matter of 5 years, almost 50% growth.

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Racial Profile

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• 60.0% Caucasian
• 20.0% Asian
• 3.1% Mixed race
• 9.8% African Canadian
• 2.1% Filipino
• 1.6% Chinese

Religious Profile

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• 67.7% Christian
• 11.0% Sikh
• 6.1% Hindu
• 5.3% Muslim

Age Groups

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• 0-14 years: 23.1%
• 15-64 years: 70%
• 65 years and over: 6.9%

Population growth in Brampton

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• 1858: 50
• 1922: 8,000 (according to Celebrating 150 Years)
• 1949: 6,000 (according to Brampton: An Illustrated History)
• 1959: 14,500
• 1963: 26,363
• 1967: 37,701
• 1983: 165,000
• 1985: 180,000
• 2002: 351,646
• 2005: 415,000
• 2031: 680,000 (est.)

Note that this is only the population of Brampton proper, and does not include Bramalea, Chinguacousy, Gore, et al. before they were actually part of Brampton.

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Brampton is considered to be one of the safest cities in Canada by city officials. However there is a growing problem with gangs and Brampton's murder rate has gone from 2 in 2003, 4 in 2004 and up to 5 already in 2005.

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