Annual Demographic Estimates:
Subprovincial Areas, July 1, 2022

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Highlights

Canada’s large urban regions experienced a significant rebound of their population growth in 2021/2022, many seeing their population increase at the fastest annual pace since at least 2001/2002.

New permanent immigrants and net gains of non-permanent residents accounted for most of this rapid growth.

These estimates give us a regional look at the demographic trends emerging in Canada following a year with fewer restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased immigration targets by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the admission of people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The largest urban centers continue to see their growth resulting mostly from international migration as movement towards smaller urban centers or peripheral regions remains strong. Urbans centers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario saw an increase in net losses to other provinces and territories, with urban centers in the Atlantic provinces, Alberta and British Columbia recording strong gains. 

Census metropolitan areas

• Canada is getting more urban: on July 1, 2022, 28,006,624 people, or just over 7 in 10 Canadians (71.9%), were living in one of Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs). This proportion was up 0.1 percentage point from a year prior as growth seen in CMAs (+2.1%) in 2021/2022 outpaced that of other regions (+1.2%).
• The CMAs of Moncton (N.B.) and Halifax (N.S.) saw the fastest growth rates of all CMAs in 2021/2022 at +5.3% and +4.4%, respectively. These growth rates are more than twice that of Canada for the same period (+1.8%) and represent the first time in at least twenty years that both the fastest growing CMAs are found in the Atlantic provinces.
• The CMAs of Thunder Bay (Ont.) (+0.2%) and Montréal (Que.) (+0.9%) grew at the slowest rate among all CMAs over the last year, although their pace of growth was faster than during the two previous years.
• All census metropolitan areas saw their population grow at a faster rate in 2021/2022 than they did a year prior, with almost half (16 of 35) of them seeing their fastest growth rate since at least 2001/2002.
• Nineteen CMAs are estimated to have seen a growth rate at or above 2.0% in the last year, up from only four in 2020/2021.
• Net international migration to Canada was up substantially, even when compared to the pre-pandemic period. In 2021/2022, annual estimates for provinces and territories showed that Canada’s population grew by 657,833 people from this source alone, more than any year since at least 1971/1972. This in turns resulted in net international migration being the leading source of growth in 85.7% of CMAs in 2021/2022. Moreover, the levels observed in 2021/2022 were the highest since at least 2001/2002 for over 9 out of 10 CMAs.
• All CMAs in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario saw net losses from people moving to other provinces in 2021/2022. This contrasts with all CMAs in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec (except the Montréal CMA) and Alberta recording net gains from other provinces.
• Unlike migration between provinces, migration trends within the same province are similar in 2021/2022 to what was observed a year prior. The CMAs of Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal continued to record high levels of net losses to exchanges with other regions of their respective provinces, while other CMAs recorded gains and losses like what was seen in 2020/2021.

Census agglomerations

• In 2021/2022, 92.3% of all census agglomerations (CAs) saw positive demographic growth, a much higher proportion than what was observed a year prior (70.9% in 2020/2021).
• In 2021/2022, the CA of Lachute (Que.) close to the Montreal CMA experienced the highest growth (+4.2%), while the second and third fastest increases occurred in Charlottetown (P.E.I.) (+4.1%) and Wasaga Beach (Ont.) (+3.9%). Gains from other part of their respective provinces was the main source of growth for the CAs of Lachute and Wasaga Beach, while international migration was the leading factor for Charlottetown.
• The CA of Estevan (Sask.) recorded the highest rate of decline in 2021/2022 at -1.1%, driven by losses to other provinces. The CA of Quesnel (B.C.) (-0.6%) came in second place, mainly due to the number of deaths continuing to be higher than births for the region.

Census divisions

• The census division (CD) of Westmorland (N.B.) recorded the highest rate of population growth in 2021/2022 at +5.3%. It was followed by the CDs of Halifax (N.S.) (+4.4%) and Queens (P.E.I.) (+4.1%).
• Five of the ten fastest growing CDs in the last year were found in the Atlantic provinces, with the other five in Quebec and Ontario. The main drivers of growth vary, with CDs in Quebec benefitting most from movement from other parts of the province while others are growing mainly thanks to international and interprovincial migration.
• The CDs showing the most pronounced population decline in 2021/2022 are found in the North with Region 2 (N.W.T.) showing a decrease of -1.9%. The CDs of Northern Rockies (B.C.) (-1.5%) and Region 5 (N.W.T.) (-1.4%) came in second and third place, respectively. The decline is driven by losses to other provinces and territories as well as to other parts of their respective province or territory.

Census subdivisions

• Among census subdivisions (CSDs) with a population of at least 5,000 (as of July 1, 2022), West St. Paul (Man.) (+8.6%), Banff (Alb.) (+7.5%), Beaubassin East (N.B.) (+7.0%) and Dieppe (N.B.) (+6.6%) grew at the fastest pace in 2021/2022. The fastest-growing CSDs are often found in the periphery of CMAs, an indication of ongoing urban spread.
• Seven of the 25 CSDs (28%) with a population of at least 5,000 that experienced the highest growth rate in 2021/2022 were in the Atlantic provinces. This highlights a favourable demographic context for the region as it is only home to 11% of all CSDs with at least 5,000 inhabitants.
• CSDs with the highest rates of population decrease are typically found in more remote regions, but also in smaller urban centres. Among CSDs with a population of at least 5,000, Tay Valley (Ont.) (-3.2%), Thompson (Man.) (-2.9%), Didsbury (Alb.) (-2.5%) and St. Paul (Alb.) (-2.5%) saw the fastest decrease in 2021/2022.