It is important to understand how the population of a community is growing and changing, what plans are in place to address population growth, how well aquatic facilities are being used and could be used. Each community can access their current community profile from Statistics Canada and a further breakdown of the number of residents in each age grouping, income levels, levels of education, immigration patterns, visible minorities, and many other cross sections of the population. This information is gathered through the national census which is conducted every six years. Previous community profiles can offer a glimpse as to how the community is changing from census to census and will give an indication as to growth patterns and if a sport friendly pool would be a viable option in the future. In 2001 the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing prompted regions and municipal communities to develop strategies to support sustainable development and population growth. Each of the 5 zones throughout the province was supported by Smart Growth Panels in order to develop healthy strategies for liveable communities. The notion was that growth is a good thing for a community and key guiding principles must be considered. The region or the municipality will have this information on hand for the leadership team to determine future growth patterns, demographics and considerations for liveable communities.