Metro Vancouver’s population grew by 9.3% to hit 2.3 million, and Canada as a whole had the highest population growth rate among the G8 countries, according to 2011 census data released Wednesday.
Canada’s population is now 33,476,688, up from 31,612,897 in 2006, according to Statistics Canada’s 2011 census report.
That’s a 5.9% increase between the 2006 and 2011 census periods, up from the 5.4% increase during the previous five-year period. That growth was attributed to both increased fertility and immigration.
British Columbia's population increased 7% over the five-year census period and now stands at 4.4 million, making it the second fastest growing of the Canadian provinces, behind Alberta. By contrast, B.C.’s growth was just 5.3% between 2001 and 2006.
The population of the Metro Vancouver region is now 2.3 million, making it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada. The population for the City of Vancouver proper grew 4.4% from 578,041 in 2006 to 603,502 in 2011.
Among B.C. cities, Surrey, Port Moody, Kelowna and Langford were the fastest growing.
Every province and territory in Canada saw growth over the last census period. Nationally, the Yukon had the highest rate of population growth at 11.7% between 2006 and 2011. Among the provinces, Alberta had the highest growth at 10.8%.
Saskatchewan, which has long had negative population growth, has made a significant comeback. Its population grew 6.7% between 2006 and 2011.
Nelson Bennett
@nbennett_biv