Census in Brief
Municipalities in Canada with the largest and fastest-growing populations between 2011 and 2016Census in Brief
Municipalities in Canada with the largest and fastest-growing populations between 2011 and 2016

Introduction

Municipalities in Canada (also called census subdivisions) are responsible for many of the direct services that are provided in the daily lives of Canadians: roads, public transportation and parking, water distribution, garbage and recycling collection, public safety and emergency preparedness, land development, including housing, parks and waterfronts, as well as sport and cultural facilities.

One of the important goals of the Census of Population is to provide municipal policy makers and administrators with reliable data at the local level to help them plan and decide on infrastructure and services needed for their municipality. Among the key factors to consider when planning services are the population size and growth rate of a community. This document highlights which of the municipalities in Canada in 2016 were the largest, as well as the municipalities that were the fastest-growing, between the 2011 and 2016 censuses.

Another report in the Census in Brief series entitled Municipalities with population decreases between 2011 and 2016 highlights those municipalities that experienced a population decrease over the last intercensal period. For trends at the national, provincial and territorial, and regional (census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations) levels, readers are encouraged to consult The Daily article entitled Population size and growth in Canada: Key results from the 2016 Census.

Close to two in five Canadians live in the 15 largest municipalities

According to the 2016 Census geographic boundaries, there were 5,162 municipalities in Canada.

Of these, 24 had a population of at least 200,000 residents (Table 1). The 15 largest municipalities each had a population that represented more than 1% of the total Canadian population. Together, these 15 municipalities were the home of almost two in five Canadians (13.0 million people, or 37% of the total Canadian population).

In 2016, three municipalities were the home of more than 1 million inhabitants: Toronto, Montréal, and Calgary. The municipality of Toronto alone had a population of 2.7 million people in 2016, representing almost 8% of the Canadian population overall.

The majority of these very large municipalities are central municipalities of a census metropolitan area (CMA). A central municipality is defined as the municipality that lends its name to the corresponding CMA or census agglomeration (CA). All other municipalities within a CMA or a CA, except the central municipality, are called peripheral municipalities. For example, the second-largest municipality in Canada, Montréal, is the central municipality of the Montréal CMA. Other municipalities located within the Montréal CMA, such as Laval, are peripheral municipalities. Distinguishing central and peripheral municipalities is useful to assess some phenomena such as the urban spread.

A few of the largest municipalities in Canada are peripheral municipalities included in a CMA. An example is Mississauga, the sixth largest municipality in Canada and part of the Toronto CMA. Other large peripheral municipalities of at least 200,000 inhabitants in 2016 were Surrey and Burnaby (part of the Vancouver CMA), and Laval and Longueuil (part of the Montréal CMA), as well as Brampton, Markham, and Vaughan (part of the Toronto CMA).

The urban spread continues: peripheral municipalities of census metropolitan areas show higher population growth^Note 1

Population growth between 2011 and 2016 was higher among peripheral municipalities (+6.9%) of CMAs, compared with central municipalities (+5.8%) (Table 2). This confirms the popular belief as well as previous findings that the urban spread phenomenon is occurring and/or is continuing in many of the CMAs in the country. For many decades, peripheral municipalities have been growing at a higher rate than central municipalities, in Canada and elsewhere.

Thirty-one municipalities of at least 5,000 inhabitants located within CMAs showed a rate of population growth that is at least three times the national average of 5.0%. All of these were peripheral municipalities (Table 3). Only municipalities with at least 5,000 inhabitants were included in this analysis to avoid interpreting rates of population growth that are based on small populations.

The fastest-growing municipality was Warman (+55.1%), a peripheral municipality located to the north within the Saskatoon CMA. The next three fastest-growing municipalities within CMAs were located in the Calgary CMA: Cochrane (+47.1%), Airdrie (+42.3%), and Chestermere (+34.2%).

Of the 31 fastest-growing municipalities in Canada, 13 were in Quebec and indicate signs of urban spread. Eight were located in the CMA of Montréal, with seven close to the edge of the CMA: Saint-Colomban (+22.5%), Mirabel (+20.4%), Saint-Lin–Laurentides (+19.0%), Carignan (+18.8%), Les Coteaux (+17.5%), Saint ­Zotique (+17.1%), and Saint-Philippe (+15.0). The other municipality was Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac (+15.2%).

The other 5 municipalities in Quebec were located in the north and east of the CMA of Québec: Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval (+29.0%), Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier (+21.9%), Shannon (+18.6%), Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury (+17.6%), and Boischatel (+17.4%).

Readers can consult two sets of detailed thematic maps showing population growth rates between 2011 and 2016: the first set shows the growth of municipalities located in each province and territory and the second set shows the growth in the 35 CMAs by census tract.

Municipalities located close to a census metropolitan area or a census agglomeration also show high rates of population growth

Of the 5,127 municipalities in Canada, 4,638 (90%) were located outside CMAs and were home to just over 10 million people (29% of the population) (Table 4).

Between 2011 and 2016, the next-highest rates of population growth after municipalities located within CMAs (+6.2%) were observed in municipalities within CAs (+3.3%) and located close to a CMA or CA^Note 2 (+3.5%).

Rapid population growth among municipalities located close to a CMA or CA is another indication that urbanization continues in Canada. These municipalities are often included among CMAs or CAs in later censuses, as the commuting flows to the CMA or CA increase over time. Such was the case with Saint-Lin-Laurentides, which was located close the CMA of Montréal and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, which was a CA in the 2011 Census. Both are part of the Montréal CMA in the 2016 Census.

Municipalities located further away from a CMA or CA showed much lower rates of population growth between 2011 and 2016, at -0.1%.

Thirteen of the top-25 fastest-growing municipalities outside census metropolitan areas are located in census agglomerations

Thirteen of the 25 fastest-growing municipalities of at least 5,000 inhabitants that are outside of CMAs were located in CAs (Table 5).

An additional eight municipalities were located close to a CMA or a CA, including the three fastest-growing municipalities. Blackfalds, Alberta, was ranked first with a rate of growth of 48.1% between 2011 and 2016, which was almost 10 times the national rate. Blackfalds is located close to the CA of Red Deer.

Only 4 of the 25 fastest-growing municipalities of over 5,000 inhabitants were located farther away from a CMA or a CA, including the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit (+15.5%), and two municipalities located in alpine resorts in British Columbia: Whistler (+20.7%) and Fernie (+18.0%).

Additional information

Additional information on population and dwelling counts can be found in the Highlight tables, Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016001; the Census Profile, Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001; and the Focus on Geography Series, Catalogue no. 98-404-X2016001.

Thematic maps for this topic are also available for various levels of geography.

There are also two videos available from the Video centre. They present a historical overview of the population of Canada and its largest metropolitan areas.

An infographic entitled Population Growth in Canada, 2016 Census of Population also illustrates some key findings, including population growth between 2011 and 2016 for Canada, provinces and territories and the six largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the country.

For details on the concepts, definitions, and variables used in the 2016 Census of Population, please consult the Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016, Catalogue no. 98-301-X.

In addition to response rates and other data-quality information, the Guide to the Census of Population, 2016, Catalogue no. 98-304-X, provides an overview of the various phases of the census including content determination, sampling design, collection, data processing, data quality assessment, confidentiality guidelines and dissemination.

Acknowledgments

This report was prepared by Laurent Martel and Stacey Hallman of Statistics Canada's Demography Division, with the assistance of other staff members of that division, and the collaboration of staff members of Census Subject Matter Secretariat, Statistical Registers and Geography Division, Census Operations Division, and Communications and Dissemination Branch.