RM of Portage la Prairie Reeve Kam Blight says the growth in the municipality over the past five years shown in new census data highlights a strong interest in rural living.

Data from the Statistics Canada 2016 census released yesterday showed a 6.9 increase in population in the RM to 6,525, up 450 people from 2011.

"We felt the numbers were a little lower than they should have been in 2011," Blight says. "To see them bounce up 450 people is great and I think it represents what's really happening."

Blight says many communities in the RM, including Oakville, Edwin, High Bluff and Poplar Point have all seen increases in population. Oakville, in particular, has new developments taking place that should allow continued growth.

"I just think the rural living is still very attractive to a lot of people," Blight says. "And with some zoning changes we've done recently, it's enabled people to subdivide their properties and offer it up for sale. That's been a real boom for our municipality."

Blight expects further growth in the coming years, especially considering the incoming industry to the RM, the Roquette pea processing plant. "Even without the new industry, I think this trend would continue. But with Roquette coming, I think the numbers can only go up further and I'm excited to see where they're at in five years time from now."

"I think we'll see another huge increase."