Grand Falls-Windsor's population has grown despite the closure of the pulp and paper mill it was built to support, according to the lastest Canadian Census.

The central Newfoundland community's population has grown from 13, 558 in 2006 to 13, 725 in 2011. The mill produced its last roll of newsprint in 2009.

“In the last two census now we’ve had an increase in population, not big increases, but any time you lose a major industry, such as our pulp and paper mill, and to still see an increase in the population – it’s quite remarkable, actually,” said Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Al Hawkins.

Click on the dots to see census information about each community. Red for population growth. Blue for population decline.

Hawkins said population growth has been driven by a number of factors. The town serves the mining sector, which is doing well in central Newfoundland.

But more importantly the community is a service centre for towns in the Exploits River Valley and communities on the northeast coast.

The hospital in Grand Falls-Windsor was already the town's largest employer before the mill closed and the community has a shopping mall, restaurants and car dealerships.

Some people from nearby communities have been moving in for those services.

“A lot of people that were living in smaller areas who want to be close to health care facilities. You’ll find that these people are moving into the larger centres. That’s something that we have been seeing over the last couple of years,” said Hawkins.

The 2011 census shows many smaller communities in the area have seen their populations decrease as Grand Falls-Windsor’s grows.

But Hawkins said that won’t fuel growth indefinitely. He said the town hopes to attract new families and young people with opportunities to work in health care and a plan to develop data centres in Grand Falls-Windsor.

“That’s were sustainability comes in. you’ve got to look at and cater to having younger people that are able to contribute to the community,” he said.

“If the balance is tipped towards an older demographic then we all know the sustainability of that is not going to be long term.”

Hawkins said that although the town's population has increased there are still concerns that a population decline may be around the corner.

He said some people had expected the census would report more growth because housing starts in the community increased 10 per cent from 2006 to 2011.

“That’s a bit of a concern because it looks like maybe the number of people per household has decreased,” said Hawkins.