Canadian Census 2021

Statistics Canada has released some of the data collected in the census: how many people live in which provinces. The statistics by age, sex and type of home will be released in April 2022.

The 2021 Census was non-contact, with Canadians required to answer a questionnaire online or mail the result in. Statistics Canada hired 32,000 people to collect questionnaire data and advise citizens on the census. It is claimed that 100% of the residents were enumerated, which may indeed be true, since Canadians are fined for evading the census.

Population growth

In 2021, Canada's population will be 36,991,981. This is an increase of 5.2% over 2016. The population density is 4.2 people per square kilometer. All provinces except the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador have increased in population.

Urbanization of Canada

82.2% of Canadians live in urban areas and 17.8% live in rural areas. The population of 18 of the 25 largest municipalities grew faster than the Canadian average: 10.6% compared to the national average growth of 5.2%.

For 2021, Canada has five municipalities with a population of more than a million people:

• Toronto, 2.8 million;
• Montreal, 1.8 million;
• Calgary, 1.3 million;
• Edmonton, 1 million;
• Ottawa, 1 million.

As you can see, Vancouver is not included in the list, although many people mistakenly believe that this is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Canada. In fact, only 662,248 people live in it. The city of Vancouver is confused with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which consists of 13 municipalities and covers almost 3,000 square kilometers.

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Greater Toronto, Greater Vancouver is a city and suburbs, together they are called Metropolitan, metropolitan areas. 71.9% of Canadians, 2,7465,137 people, live in metropolitan areas.

Six metropolitan areas have populations in excess of one million:

• Greater Toronto — 6,202,225 people;
• Greater Montreal — 4,291,732 people;
• Greater Vancouver — 2,642,825 people;
• Ottawa-Gatineau — 1,488,307 people;
• Calgary — 1,481,806 people;
• Greater Edmonton — 1,418,118 people.

The record population growth was in East Gwillimbury, a municipality bordering Toronto. Since 2016, the population of East Gwillimbury has increased by 44.4%.

That people are leaving the province to move closer to the big cities can also be seen in the population growth in other Toronto suburbs. In five years, the increase has been:

• in New Tecumseh 28.3%;
• in Bradford-West Gwillimbury 21.4%;
• In Milton, 20.7%.

A similar picture can be seen in the suburbs of other major cities:

• the population of Langford, a suburb of Victoria, grew by 31.8%;
• the population of St. Apollinaire, a suburb of Quebec, grew by 30.4%;
• the populations of Niverville and West St. Paul, the suburbs of Winnipeg, grew by 29% and 24.5%, respectively.

About rural Canada

Recall that Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, with an area of 9,985,000 square kilometers. Despite the vastness of the country, most Canadians live in a few urban agglomerations located near the border with the United States and along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

At 4.2 people per square kilometer, Canada has one of the lowest population densities in the world. By comparison, Russia has a population density of 8.49 people per square kilometer as of January 1, 2022.

The 2021 Census of Canada shows that the rural population growth rate was fifteen times slower than the urban areas of Canada. Rural population growth over five years was only 6.3%, compared to 20-40% in the suburbs of large cities.

This difference is due in part to the desire of immigrants to live in large cities, and Canada's population is growing mainly because of newcomers. Immigration before the pandemic accounted for 82.2% of population growth.

From 2016 to 2021, the rural population grew fastest in Nunavut (up 10.3%) and Prince Edward Island (up 6.2%). In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, the rural population declined. There was also an increase in the rural population in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, which is due to intra-provincial migration.

However, moving people from rural to urban areas is a common problem in developed countries. Canada and Germany, with a rural population growth rate of 0.1%, are now the only G7 countries to have this growth rate in principle.

It is important to note that Canada is encouraging migration to rural areas and the development of remote municipalities. Another statistic: As of March 2020, between 20% and 40% of workers in Canada have moved to remote work, although in February 2020, just before the pandemic, only 5.7% worked remotely.

This means that fewer and fewer people are tied to a specific place of residence and may be willing to move to the countryside, especially since real estate in cities is becoming more expensive every year. Renting a house in a big city also expensive.