This morning, Statistics Canada started releasing the information gathered from the 2016 census.

This was the first 'data dump' by StatsCan following last May's national census.

The information, which focused on population, revealed that Thompson showed an increase of 555, or 4.5%, from 2011 to 2016.

Thompson city manager Gary Ceppetelli spoke to 102.9 CHTM and said that he was relieved by the numbers.

Ceppetelli said that the increase should mean additional funding for the city's budget.

He also added that he thinks the growth is sustainable, as Thompson is diversifying the economy in town.

Snow Lake and Churchill were two other northern regions that recorded population increases.

Despite the increase in Thompson , Churchill and Snow Lake, Stats Canada says that communities in northern Manitoba reported some of the largest population loses between 2011 and 2016.

The census concluded that the total population in Manitoba is up over 70,000 people to 1,278,365 from 2011.