The population of the Watson Lake community averaged 1,545
people in 2003, the lowest it has been in ten years. The
population of the Watson Lake area has fluctuated over the past
decade, from a high of just over 1,800 in 1993 to the current
low point. The Liard First Nation is an important segment of the
population in the Watson Lake community. The 2001 Census shows
just over 36 percent of the community's people identified
themselves as First Nations people. This compares with 23
percent for the Yukon overall. Watson Lake has had a slightly
higher-than-average population movement from outside the Yukon.
People who had moved from outside of the Yukon in the five years
preceding the 2001 Census made up 18 percent of the Watson Lake
population. The average for the Yukon as a whole was almost 16
percent. Most arrived from other provinces, with only a small
number moving from outside Canada. Information from the end of
2003 shows that the age structure of the Watson Lake population
is very similar to that of the