Jump to content

List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada by population, using data from the 2021 Canadian census and the 2016 Canadian census.[1] Each entry is identified as a census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) as defined by Statistics Canada.

A city's metropolitan area in colloquial or administrative terms may be different from its CMA as defined by Statistics Canada, resulting in differing populations. Such is the case with the Greater Toronto Area, where its metro population is notably higher than its CMA population due to its inclusion of the neighbouring Oshawa CMA to the east and the Burlington portion of the neighbouring Hamilton CMA to the west.[2]

In 2021, 27,465,137 people (71.9% of Canada's population) lived in a CMA, while 4,596,279 (12.0%) lived in a CA.[citation needed]

Recent growth

Between 2016 and 2021, the five CMAs with the highest percentage growth were located in British Columbia and Southern Ontario. The five CMAs with the lowest percentage growth were in Quebec, Alberta, Northern Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. There were no CMAs for which negative growth was recorded in the 2021 census. The five CAs that grew the fastest were in British Columbia, Southern Ontario, and Alberta, while the five CAs whose population declined the most were in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Northern British Columbia, Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Between 2011 and 2016, the six fastest-growing CMAs by percentage growth were located in Western Canada, with Alberta's two CMAs, Calgary and Edmonton, leading the country. Saskatoon, Regina, and Lethbridge rounded out the top five in the country and each grew by at least 10%. Of the remaining 30 CMAs, population growth was recorded in all but two of them. Those that experienced population decline were Brantford and Saint John.[3][4][5] Ten of the fifteen fastest-growing CAs in Canada between the two most recent censuses were located in Alberta. The other five were located in British Columbia with two, and Manitoba, Ontario and Yukon each with one.

Between 2006 and 2011, twenty-four CAs experienced population decline. The fifteen CAs that experienced the greatest population decline were located in British Columbia (two), Manitoba (one), New Brunswick (one), Nova Scotia (three), Ontario (four) and Quebec (four). Okotoks experienced the greatest increase while Thompson experienced the greatest decline.[3][4]

List

Canada had 41 CMAs and 111 CAs at the 2021 census. The number of CMAs increased from 35 in 2016 with the promotion of the Nanaimo, Kamloops, Chilliwack, Fredericton, Drummondville and Red Deer CAs.[6] Overall, between promotion to CMA, absorption, and dissolution, the number of CAs decreased by seven. Amos was reinstated as a CA and Ladysmith, Trail and Essa were added as new CAs. The Carleton Place and Arnprior CAs were dissolved as they were added to the Ottawa–Gatineau CMA, the Leamington CA was dissolved as it was added to the Windsor CMA, and the Cold Lake and Bay Roberts CAs were dissolved as their urban population decreased below 10,000. 2016 rankings in the chart below are based on 2021 boundaries and exclude the five CAs dissolved in 2021 but include the four new/reinstated CAs.

Canada had 35 CMAs and 117 CAs at the 2016 census. The number of CMAs increased from 33 in 2011 with the promotion of the Belleville and Lethbridge CAs.[7] The number of CAs increased from 113 through the creation of eight new CAs – Arnprior, Carleton Place, Gander, Nelson, Sainte-Marie, Wasaga Beach, Weyburn and Winkler – the demotion of two CAs – Amos and Temiskaming Shores – and the promotion of Belleville and Lethbridge to CMAs.[7]

Rank (2021) Rank (2016) Geographic name Province Type Population Change Land area (km2)[8] Population density (/km2)
(2021)[8] (2016)[8]
1 1 Toronto Ontario CMA 6,202,225 5,928,040 +4.63% 5902.75 1,050.7
2 2 Montreal Quebec CMA 4,291,732 4,104,074 +4.57% 4670.10 919.0
3 3 Vancouver British Columbia CMA 2,642,825 2,463,431 +7.28% 2878.93 918.0
4 5 Ottawa–Gatineau Ontario/Quebec CMA 1,488,307 1,371,576 +8.51% 8046.99 185.0
5 4 Calgary Alberta CMA 1,481,806 1,392,609 +6.41% 5098.68 290.6
6 6 Edmonton Alberta CMA 1,418,118 1,321,441 +7.32% 9416.19 150.6
7 7 Quebec City Quebec CMA 839,311 806,406 +4.08% 3499.46 239.8
8 8 Winnipeg Manitoba CMA 834,678 783,099 +6.59% 5285.46 157.9
9 9 Hamilton Ontario CMA 785,184 747,545 +5.04% 1373.15 571.8
10 10 KitchenerCambridgeWaterloo Ontario CMA 575,847 523,894 +9.92% 1092.33 527.2
11 11 London Ontario CMA 543,551 494,069 +10.02% 2661.48 204.2
12 12 Halifax Nova Scotia CMA 465,703 426,932 +9.08% 7276.22 64.0
13 13 St. CatharinesNiagara Ontario CMA 433,604 406,074 +6.78% 1397.09 310.4
14 14 Windsor Ontario CMA 422,630 398,718 +6.00% 1803.17 234.4
15 15 Oshawa Ontario CMA 415,311 379,848 +9.34% 903.25 459.8
16 16 Victoria British Columbia CMA 397,237 367,770 +8.01% 695.29 571.3
17 17 Saskatoon Saskatchewan CMA 317,480 295,095 +7.59% 5864.48 54.1
18 18 Regina Saskatchewan CMA 249,217 236,695 +5.29% 4323.66 57.6
19 19 Sherbrooke Quebec CMA 227,398 212,105 +7.21% 1458.10 156.0
20 22 Kelowna British Columbia CMA 222,162 194,892 +13.99% 2902.45 76.5
21 21 Barrie Ontario CMA 212,856 197,059 +8.02% 897.26 237.2
22 20 St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador CMA 212,579 208,418 +2.00% 931.56 228.2
23 23 AbbotsfordMission British Columbia CMA 195,726 180,518 +8.42% 606.72 322.6
24 26 Kingston Ontario CMA 172,546 161,175 +7.06% 1919.17 89.9
25 24 Greater Sudbury Ontario CMA 170,605 165,958 +2.80% 4187.40 40.7
26 28 Guelph Ontario CMA 165,588 151,984 +8.95% 595.08 278.3
27 25 Saguenay Quebec CMA 161,567 161,520 +0.03% 3133.53 51.6
28 27 Trois-Rivières Quebec CMA 161,489 156,042 +3.49% 1038.64 155.5
29 29 Moncton New Brunswick CMA 157,717 144,810 +8.91% 2562.47 61.5
30 30 Brantford Ontario CMA 144,162 134,203 +7.42% 1074.00 134.2
31 31 Saint John New Brunswick CMA 130,613 126,202 +3.50% 3505.66 37.3
32 32 Peterborough Ontario CMA 128,624 121,721 +5.67% 1508.44 85.3
33 34 Lethbridge Alberta CMA 123,847 117,394 +5.50% 2958.96 41.9
34 33 Thunder Bay Ontario CMA 123,258 121,621 +1.35% 2550.79 48.3
35 35 Nanaimo British Columbia CMA 115,459 104,936 +10.03% 1279.28 90.3
36 36 Kamloops British Columbia CMA 114,142 103,811 +9.95% 5654.08 20.2
37 40 Chilliwack British Columbia CMA 113,767 101,512 +12.07% 1444.02 78.8
38 37 BellevilleQuinte West Ontario CMA 111,184 103,401 +7.53% 1337.50 83.1
39 38 Fredericton New Brunswick CMA 108,610 102,690 +5.76% 6014.66 18.1
40 39 Chatham-Kent Ontario CA 104,316 102,042 +2.23% 2464.52 42.3
41 43 Drummondville Quebec CMA 101,610 97,149 +4.59% 1094.36 92.8
42 41 Red Deer Alberta CMA 100,844 100,418 +0.42% 104.34 966.5
43 42 Cape Breton Nova Scotia CA 98,318 98,722 −0.41% 2457.21 40.0
44 44 Sarnia Ontario CA 97,592 96,151 +1.50% 1117.20 87.4
45 46 Granby Quebec CA 90,833 85,056 +6.79% 494.10 183.8
46 45 Prince George British Columbia CA 89,490 86,622 +3.31% 17650.99 5.1
47 49 Kawartha Lakes Ontario CA 79,247 75,423 +5.07% 3033.66 26.1
48 51 Charlottetown Prince Edward Island CA 78,858 71,821 +9.80% 1112.43 70.9
49 47 Sault Ste. Marie Ontario CA 76,731 78,159 −1.83% 802.58 95.6
50 48 Medicine Hat Alberta CA 76,376 76,522 −0.19% 13106.11 5.8
51 50 Wood Buffalo Alberta CA 73,837 73,325 +0.70% 60957.21 1.2
52 52 North Bay Ontario CA 71,736 70,378 +1.93% 5314.85 13.5
53 53 Norfolk Ontario CA 67,490 64,044 +5.38% 1597.68 42.2
54 55 Vernon British Columbia CA 67,086 61,324 +9.40% 1041.09 64.4
55 54 Grande Prairie Alberta CA 64,141 63,166 +1.54% 132.71 483.3
56 58 Courtenay British Columbia CA 63,282 57,950 +9.20% 624.33 101.4
57 56 Cornwall Ontario CA 61,415 59,699 +2.87% 509.21 120.6
58 57 Saint-Hyacinthe Quebec CA 59,980 58,201 +3.06% 259.38 231.2
59 60 Brandon Manitoba CA 54,268 51,807 +4.75% 1232.81 44.0
60 59 Rimouski Quebec CA 53,944 53,498 +0.83% 772.93 69.8
61 61 Victoriaville Quebec CA 52,936 51,336 +3.12% 378.10 140.0
62 62 Joliette Quebec CA 52,706 49,439 +6.61% 108.66 485.1
63 63 Shawinigan Quebec CA 49,620 49,349 +0.55% 729.98 68.0
64 65 Duncan British Columbia CA 47,582 44,451 +7.04% 373.22 127.5
65 67 Penticton British Columbia CA 47,380 43,534 +8.83% 1734.72 27.3
66 71 Woodstock Ontario CA 46,705 41,098 +13.64% 56.46 827.2
67 64 Truro Nova Scotia CA 46,157 45,753 +0.88% 2732.53 16.9
68 66 Prince Albert Saskatchewan CA 45,718 44,160 +3.53% 2537.68 18.0
69 72 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Quebec CA 42,787 40,745 +5.01% 108.56 394.1
70 68 Rouyn-Noranda Quebec CA 42,313 42,334 −0.05% 5963.57 7.1
71 70 Sorel-Tracy Quebec CA 41,934 41,629 +0.73% 170.31 246.2
72 69 Timmins Ontario CA 41,145 41,788 −1.54% 2955.33 13.9
73 73 Campbell River British Columbia CA 40,704 37,861 +7.51% 1734.05 23.5
74 74 Lloydminster Alberta/Saskatchewan CA 36,508 36,736 −0.62% 1984.24 18.4
75 75 Moose Jaw Saskatchewan CA 34,872 35,053 −0.52% 843.44 41.3
76 77 Saint-Georges Quebec CA 34,833 34,176 +1.92% 365.21 95.4
77 76 New Glasgow Nova Scotia CA 34,397 34,487 −0.26% 2066.47 16.6
78 78 Val-d'Or Quebec CA 34,037 33,871 +0.49% 3539.98 9.6
79 82 Orillia Ontario CA 33,411 31,166 +7.20% 28.53 1,171.1
80 80 Stratford Ontario CA 33,232 31,470 +5.60% 30.02 1,107.0
81 79 Owen Sound Ontario CA 32,712 31,820 +2.80% 624.18 52.4
82 86 Winkler Manitoba CA 32,655 30,297 +7.78% 872.19 37.4
83 92 Whitehorse Yukon CA 31,913 28,225 +13.07% 8465.21 3.8
84 81 Brockville Ontario CA 31,661 31,200 +1.48% 576.87 54.9
85 83 Bathurst New Brunswick CA 31,387 31,110 +0.89% 2100.05 14.9
86 93 Centre Wellington Ontario CA 31,093 28,191 +10.29% 409.41 75.9
87 88 Parksville British Columbia CA 31,054 28,922 +7.37% 81.81 379.6
88 87 Okotoks Alberta CA 30,405 29,016 +4.79% 38.55 788.7
89 85 Alma Quebec CA 30,331 30,771 −1.43% 194.92 155.6
90 89 Rivière-du-Loup Quebec CA 30,025 28,902 +3.89% 543.02 55.3
91 84 Corner Brook Newfoundland and Labrador CA 29,762 30,969 −3.90% 1122.58 26.5
92 91 Fort St. John British Columbia CA 28,729 28,396 +1.17% 617.73 46.5
93 95 Thetford Mines Quebec CA 28,287 27,564 +2.62% 405.92 69.7
94 99 Midland Ontario CA 27,894 25,826 +8.01% 60.75 459.2
95 90 Sept-Îles Quebec CA 27,729 28,534 −2.82% 1750.44 15.8
96 96 Miramichi New Brunswick CA 27,593 27,518 +0.27% 7564.06 3.6
97 98 Cranbrook British Columbia CA 27,040 26,068 +3.73% 4563.87 5.9
98 97 Kentville Nova Scotia CA 26,929 26,222 +2.70% 607.05 44.4
99 94 Baie-Comeau Quebec CA 26,643 27,692 −3.79% 682.89 39.0
100 100 Port Alberni British Columbia CA 25,786 24,669 +4.53% 1633.13 15.8
101 107 Wasaga Beach Ontario CA 24,862 20,675 +20.25% 57.42 433.0
102 105 Collingwood Ontario CA 24,811 21,793 +13.85% 33.15 748.4
103 110 Squamish British Columbia CA 24,232 19,893 +21.81% 105.43 229.8
104 101 Pembroke Ontario CA 23,814 23,269 +2.34% 553.40 43.0
105 103 Williams Lake British Columbia CA 23,608 23,113 +2.14% 12422.14 1.9
106 102 Quesnel British Columbia CA 23,113 23,146 −0.14% 21708.62 1.1
107 106 Essa Ontario CA 22,970 21,083 +8.95% 279.92 82.1
108 104 Edmundston New Brunswick CA 22,144 21,955 +0.86% 1582.36 14.0
109 112 Cobourg Ontario CA 20,519 19,440 +5.55% 22.41 915.6
110 111 Yellowknife Northwest Territories CA 20,340 19,569 +3.94% 103.37 196.8
111 120 Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Quebec CA 19,892 18,010 +10.45% 210.96 94.3
112 109 Yorkton Saskatchewan CA 19,859 19,927 −0.34% 1623.32 12.2
113 121 Salmon Arm British Columbia CA 19,705 17,904 +10.06% 165.42 119.1
114 113 Terrace British Columbia CA 19,606 19,160 +2.33% 9721.84 2.0
115 108 North Battleford Saskatchewan CA 19,374 20,052 −3.38% 1118.54 17.3
116 119 Nelson British Columbia CA 19,119 18,307 +4.44% 1224.30 15.6
117 116 Amos Quebec CA 18,873 18,872 +0.01% 2298.16 8.2
118 117 Camrose Alberta CA 18,772 18,742 +0.16% 41.67 450.5
119 118 Swift Current Saskatchewan CA 18,745 18,536 +1.13% 1129.78 16.6
120 127 Tillsonburg Ontario CA 18,615 15,872 +17.28% 22.20 838.5
121 114 Matane Quebec CA 18,474 18,894 −2.22% 865.87 21.3
122 122 Petawawa Ontario CA 18,160 17,187 +5.66% 164.70 110.3
123 123 Summerside Prince Edward Island CA 18,157 16,831 +7.88% 125.12 145.1
124 115 Dawson Creek British Columbia CA 17,878 18,890 −5.36% 11716.80 1.5
125 124 Powell River British Columbia CA 17,825 16,783 +6.21% 799.80 22.3
126 126 Steinbach Manitoba CA 17,806 16,022 +11.13% 37.56 474.1
127 125 Port Hope Ontario CA 17,294 16,753 +3.23% 278.80 62.0
128 129 Sylvan Lake Alberta CA 16,514 15,302 +7.92% 24.25 681.0
129 136 Canmore Alberta CA 15,990 13,992 +14.28% 68.47 233.5
130 132 Ladysmith British Columbia CA 15,501 14,572 +6.38% 412.01 37.6
131 128 Dolbeau-Mistassini Quebec CA 15,306 15,750 −2.82% 647.75 23.6
132 139 Cowansville Quebec CA 15,234 13,656 +11.56% 46.87 325.0
133 130 Kenora Ontario CA 14,967 15,096 −0.85% 211.65 70.7
134 133 Brooks Alberta CA 14,924 14,451 +3.27% 18.21 819.5
135 137 Strathmore Alberta CA 14,339 13,756 +4.24% 26.98 531.5
136 141 High River Alberta CA 14,324 13,594 +5.37% 22.19 645.5
137 134 Trail British Columbia CA 14,268 14,196 +0.51% 279.13 51.1
138 147 Lachute Quebec CA 14,100 12,862 +9.63% 108.66 129.8
139 135 Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador CA 13,853 14,171 −2.24% 54.84 252.6
140 148 Ingersoll Ontario CA 13,693 12,757 +7.34% 12.73 1,075.6
141 143 Prince Rupert British Columbia CA 13,442 13,462 −0.15% 3303.63 4.1
142 145 Gander Newfoundland and Labrador CA 13,414 13,234 +1.36% 2412.67 5.6
143 146 Lacombe Alberta CA 13,396 13,057 +2.60% 20.59 650.6
144 131 Campbellton New Brunswick CA 13,330 14,679 −9.19% 1525.45 8.7
145 144 Portage la Prairie Manitoba CA 13,270 13,304 −0.26% 24.72 536.8
146 142 Sainte-Marie Quebec CA 13,134 13,565 −3.18% 107.55 122.1
147 138 Thompson Manitoba CA 13,035 13,678 −4.70% 16.62 784.3
148 140 Estevan Saskatchewan CA 12,798 13,615 −6.00% 793.36 16.1
149 149 Wetaskiwin Alberta CA 12,594 12,655 −0.48% 18.75 671.7
150 150 Weyburn Saskatchewan CA 12,247 12,055 +1.59% 828.28 14.8
151 151 Hawkesbury Ontario/Quebec CA 12,010 11,974 +0.30% 12.91 930.3
152 152 Elliot Lake Ontario CA 11,372 10,741 +5.87% 696.06 16.3

See also

References

  1. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 and 2011 censuses (table). 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "What's the difference between the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and CMA Toronto (census metropolitan area)?". Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences University of Toronto. May 9, 2001. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2011 and 2006 censuses (table). 2011 Census". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "The Canadian Population in 2011: Population Counts and Growth" (PDF) (PDF). Statistics Canada. February 2012. pp. 13–17. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  5. ^ "The Daily — Population size and growth in Canada: Key results from the 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021 | Changes to the name and number of CMAs and CAs for the 2021 Census". Statistics Canada. 2021-11-17. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-07-03. For the 2021 Census, Fredericton (N.B.), Drummondville (Que.), Red Deer (Alta.), Kamloops (B.C.), Chilliwack (B.C.) and Nanaimo (B.C.), which were all CAs in 2016, became CMAs, while Saint‑Hyacinthe (Que.) is now subdivided into census tracts because its core population was at least 50,000 in the previous census. Five new CAs were created: Sainte‑Agathe‑des‑Monts (Que.), Amos (Que.), Essa (Ont.), Trail (B.C.) and Ladysmith (B.C.). ... The CAs of Bay Roberts (N.L.), and Cold Lake (Alta.) were retired because the population of their cores dropped below 10,000 in 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Statistical Area Classification - Variant of SGC 2016 (Census metropolitan area and census agglomeration)". Statistics Canada. November 16, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016. There are 35 CMAs and 117 CAs in 2016. Two new CMAs were created: Belleville (Ont.) and Lethbridge (Alta.). Eight new CAs were created: Gander (N.L.), Sainte-Marie (Que.), Arnprior (Ont.), Carleton Place (Ont.), Wasaga Beach (Ont.), Winkler (Man.), Weyburn (Sask.) and Nelson (Alta.). The CAs of Amos (Que.) and Temiskaming Shores (Ont.) were retired because the population of their cores dropped below 10,000 in 2011.
  8. ^ a b c "Population and dwelling counts: Census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and census subdivisions (municipalities)1". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2023-06-07.