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List of the largest population centres in Canada

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A population centre, in the context of a Canadian census, is a populated place, or a cluster of interrelated populated places, which meets the demographic characteristics of an urban area, having a population of at least 1,000 people and a population density of no fewer than 400 people per square km2.[1]

Canada population density map (2014)

The term was introduced in the Canada 2011 Census; prior to that, Statistics Canada used the term urban area.[1]

Statistics Canada listed 944 population centres in its 2011 census data; 513 of them, 54 per cent of all population centres in Canada, were located in Ontario or Quebec, the two most populous provinces.

History

The term "population centre" was chosen in order to better reflect the fact that urban vs. rural is not a strict division, but rather a continuum within which several distinct settlement patterns, and several competing interpretations of the distinction, may exist.[1] For example, a community may fit a strictly statistical definition of an urban area, but may not be commonly thought of as "urban" because it has a smaller population, or because it functions socially and economically as a suburb of another urban area rather than as a self-contained urban entity, or because it is geographically remote from other urban communities. Municipal boundaries are ignored in determining population centres and they are focused entirely on their geographic and built-up nature.

Accordingly, the new definition set out three distinct types of population centres: small (population 1,000 to 29,999), medium (population 30,000 to 99,999) and large (population 100,000 or greater).[1] Despite the change in terminology, however, the demographic definition of a population centre remains unchanged from that of an urban area: a population of at least 1,000 people where the density is no fewer than 400 persons per square kilometre.

Characteristics

A population centre does not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of a municipality or of a census division. For example, a less densely populated area within a city's municipal boundaries may not be included as part of its population centre, while areas outside the city limits that directly continue a city's urban core population may be included.

 
Canada population density map

For example, the population centre of Toronto extends into neighbouring Peel Region, Halton Region, Durham Region and York Region, encompassing places such as Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Pickering and Ajax. Despite this, numerous other communities which are considered part of the Greater Toronto Area for political purposes are not part of the population centre of Toronto; because more rural areas separate them geographically from the primary zone of urban settlement, communities such as Milton, Georgetown, Caledon East, Bolton, Nobleton, and Stouffville instead form their own separate small or medium population centres,[2] and even a portion of the city of Toronto itself, to the north and east of the Toronto Zoo in Scarborough, is excluded from the population centre as it is much less densely populated than the rest of the city.

However, the Statistics Canada definition of a population centre is that it does not cross the boundaries of a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA); even though the band of continuous urban development emanating outward from downtown Toronto along the shore of Lake Ontario extends even further into Hamilton and Oshawa, these two cities are both considered separate CMAs by Statistics Canada rather than being part of Toronto's, and accordingly each is also considered a distinct population centre.

Conversely, a single municipality may also contain more than one distinct population centre, if less densely populated or undeveloped regions separate more urbanized areas from one another. For example, Ottawa has seven distinct population centres (Ottawa-Gatineau, Constance Bay, Kanata, Richmond, Osgoode, Manotick and Metcalfe),[3] the neighbouring city of Gatineau has a secondary population centre at Buckingham in addition to its primary urban core forming part of Ottawa-Gatineau, and Greater Sudbury has eight distinct population centres (Sudbury, Azilda, Capreol, Chelmsford, Coniston, Dowling, Lively and Valley East).[4]

For actual "city limits" populations, see List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, and for metropolitan area populations, see List of metropolitan areas in Canada.

Lists

By population rank

Rank Population centre[5] Province[5] Size group[5] Population (2021)[5] Population (2016)[5] Change[5] Land area (km2)[5] Population density (/km2)[5]
1 Toronto Ontario Large urban 5,647,656 5,433,590 +3.9% 1,829.05 3,087.8
2 Montreal Quebec Large urban 3,675,219 3,528,651 +4.2% 1,382.47 2,658.4
3 Vancouver British Columbia Large urban 2,426,160 2,268,864 +6.9% 911.64 2,661.3
4 Calgary Alberta Large urban 1,305,550 1,240,413 +5.3% 621.72 2,099.9
5 Edmonton Alberta Large urban 1,151,635 1,070,998 +7.5% 627.2 1,836.2
6 Ottawa–Gatineau Ontario / Quebec Large urban 1,068,821 994,576 +7.5% 549.49 1,945.1
7 Winnipeg Manitoba Large urban 758,515 712,858 +6.4% 356.99 2,124.8
8 Quebec City Quebec Large urban 733,156 708,280 +3.5% 442.85 1,655.5
9 Hamilton Ontario Large urban 729,560 693,362 +5.2% 356.03 2,049.2
10 Kitchener Ontario Large urban 522,888 473,230 +10.5% 296.45 1,763.8
11 London Ontario Large urban 423,369 384,784 +10.0% 244.97 1,728.2
12 Victoria British Columbia Large urban 363,222 337,235 +7.7% 222.71 1,630.9
13 Halifax Nova Scotia Large urban 348,634 317,334 +9.9% 238.29 1,463.1
14 Oshawa Ontario Large urban 335,949 309,759 +8.5% 159.79 2,102.4
15 Windsor Ontario Large urban 306,519 288,363 +6.3% 184.96 1,657.2
16 Saskatoon Saskatchewan Large urban 264,637 245,904 +7.6% 134.63 1,965.7
17 St. Catharines – Niagara Falls Ontario Large urban 242,460 229,776 +5.5% 140.59 1,724.6
18 Regina Saskatchewan Large urban 224,996 214,664 +4.8% 105.61 2,130.4
19 St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador Large urban 185,565 181,955 +2.0% 178 1,042.5
20 Kelowna British Columbia Large urban 181,380 160,095 +13.3% 168.92 1,073.8
21 Barrie Ontario Large urban 154,676 146,394 +5.7% 95.33 1,622.5
22 Sherbrooke Quebec Large urban 151,157 140,300 +7.7% 102.61 1,473.1
23 Guelph Ontario Large urban 144,356 132,705 +8.8% 79.57 1,814.2
24 Kanata Ontario Large urban 137,118 118,308 +15.9% 62.35 2,199.2
25 Abbotsford British Columbia Large urban 132,300 122,163 +8.3% 71.2 1,858.1
26 Trois-Rivières Quebec Large urban 128,057 124,158 +3.1% 98.58 1,299.0
27 Kingston Ontario Large urban 127,943 119,061 +7.5% 83.43 1,533.5
28 Milton Ontario Large urban 124,579 101,885 +22.3% 45.2 2,756.2
29 Moncton New Brunswick Large urban 119,785 109,075 +9.8% 110.73 1,081.8
30 White Rock British Columbia Large urban 109,167 93,811 +16.4% 54.23 2,013.0
31 Nanaimo British Columbia Large urban 106,079 96,415 +10.0% 86.76 1,222.7
32 Brantford Ontario Large urban 104,413 98,250 +6.3% 62.13 1,680.6
33 Chicoutimi – Jonquière Quebec Large urban 103,934 104,741 −0.8% 94.56 1,099.1
34 Saint-Jérôme Quebec Large urban 100,859 91,205 +10.6% 96.97 1,040.1
35 Red Deer Alberta Medium 99,846 99,773 +0.1% 65.93 1,514.4
36 Thunder Bay Ontario Medium 95,266 94,767 +0.5% 76.03 1,253.0
37 Lethbridge Alberta Medium 92,563 89,309 +3.6% 64 1,446.3
38 Kamloops British Columbia Medium 92,442 85,702 +7.9% 74.35 1,243.3
39 Sudbury Ontario Medium 92,093 88,155 +4.5% 75.79 1,215.1
40 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec Medium 88,083 85,022 +3.6% 53.8 1,637.2
41 Peterborough Ontario Medium 84,793 82,149 +3.2% 54.58 1,553.6
42 Chilliwack British Columbia Medium 81,622 73,171 +11.5% 56.02 1,457.0
43 Châteauguay Quebec Medium 75,891 71,164 +6.6% 50.48 1,503.4
44 Belleville Ontario Medium 75,052 68,859 +9.0% 89.48 838.8
45 Sarnia Ontario Medium 73,944 73,403 +0.7% 60.53 1,221.6
46 Airdrie Alberta Medium 73,578 61,082 +20.5% 33.03 2,227.6
47 Drummondville Quebec Medium 72,089 68,634 +5.0% 52.3 1,378.4
48 Welland – Pelham Ontario Medium 69,302 63,011 +10.0% 57.21 1,211.4
49 Fort McMurray Alberta Medium 68,002 67,123 +1.3% 52.17 1,303.5
50 Prince George British Columbia Medium 67,339 66,315 +1.5% 73.9 911.2
51 Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Medium 64,923 66,313 −2.1% 52.97 1,225.7
52 Fredericton New Brunswick Medium 64,614 61,014 +5.9% 89.6 721.1
53 Saint John New Brunswick Medium 63,447 61,152 +3.8% 70.05 905.7
54 Medicine Hat Alberta Medium 63,382 63,111 +0.4% 53.2 1,191.4
55 Grande Prairie Alberta Medium 63,172 62,382 +1.3% 49.74 1,270.0
56 Granby Quebec Medium 62,624 59,706 +4.9% 48.39 1,294.2
57 Bowmanville – Newcastle Ontario Medium 56,742 48,929 +16.0% 31.23 1,816.9
58 Beloeil Quebec Medium 52,959 51,132 +3.6% 26.5 1,998.5
59 Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Medium 52,390 48,054 +9.0% 57.56 910.2
60 Vernon British Columbia Medium 51,896 48,425 +7.2% 51.16 1,014.4
61 North Bay Ontario Medium 51,433 50,396 +2.1% 64.91 792.4
62 Saint-Hyacinthe Quebec Medium 50,616 50,104 +1.0% 30.8 1,643.4
63 Brandon Manitoba Medium 50,532 48,345 +4.5% 28.73 1,758.9
64 Joliette Quebec Medium 49,246 46,277 +6.4% 39.03 1,261.7
65 Courtenay British Columbia Medium 48,917 45,314 +8.0% 56.58 864.6
66 Cornwall Ontario Medium 47,286 46,114 +2.5% 32.4 1,459.4
67 Victoriaville Quebec Medium 46,322 44,735 +3.5% 35.27 1,313.4
68 Woodstock Ontario Medium 46,296 40,614 +14.0% 34.41 1,345.4
69 St. Thomas Ontario Medium 45,732 41,834 +9.3% 28.1 1,627.5
70 Chatham Ontario Medium 45,171 43,550 +3.7% 31.21 1,447.3
71 Georgetown Ontario Medium 44,058 42,326 +4.1% 25.7 1,714.3
72 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Quebec Medium 41,655 39,655 +5.0% 33.93 1,227.7
73 Spruce Grove Alberta Medium 39,348 36,279 +8.5% 29.76 1,322.2
74 Shawinigan Quebec Medium 38,930 38,695 +0.6% 31.77 1,225.4
75 Rimouski Quebec Medium 38,708 38,478 +0.6% 27.79 1,392.9
76 Bradford Ontario Medium 38,128 30,765 +23.9% 16.1 2,368.2
77 Campbell River British Columbia Medium 38,108 35,440 +7.5% 33 1,154.8
78 Penticton British Columbia Medium 36,893 33,899 +8.8% 25.84 1,427.7
79 Prince Albert Saskatchewan Medium 36,768 35,102 +4.7% 21.37 1,720.5
80 Stouffville Ontario Medium 36,753 32,634 +12.6% 14.17 2,593.7
81 Sorel Quebec Medium 36,650 36,365 +0.8% 30.61 1,197.3
82 Mission British Columbia Medium 36,193 33,713 +7.4% 27.23 1,329.2
83 Leamington Ontario Medium 35,730 33,049 +8.1% 31.77 1,124.6
84 Orangeville Ontario Medium 34,177 32,318 +5.8% 19.77 1,728.7
85 Leduc Alberta Medium 33,505 29,561 +13.3% 67.43 496.9
86 Orillia Ontario Medium 33,379 31,128 +7.2% 22.68 1,471.7
87 Stratford Ontario Medium 32,878 31,094 +5.7% 23.3 1,411.1
88 Moose Jaw Saskatchewan Medium 32,813 32,993 −0.5% 22.14 1,482.1
89 Cochrane Alberta Medium 31,638 25,501 +24.1% 23.71 1,334.4
90 Lloydminster Alberta / Saskatchewan Medium 31,582 31,400 +0.6% 24.43 1,292.8
91 Cape Breton – Sydney Nova Scotia Medium 30,960 30,170 +2.6% 30.91 1,001.6
92 Okotoks Alberta Medium 30,214 28,833 +4.8% 17.23 1,753.6
93 Innisfil Ontario Small 29,464 24,277 +21.4% 23.71 1,242.7
94 Timmins Ontario Small 28,874 29,331 −1.6% 18.49 1,561.6
95 Saint-Georges Quebec Small 27,402 27,103 +1.1% 27.09 1,011.5
96 Parksville British Columbia Small 27,330 25,364 +7.8% 27.45 995.6
97 Keswick – Elmhurst Beach Ontario Small 27,145 26,999 +0.5% 16.56 1,639.2
98 Fort Saskatchewan Alberta Small 26,831 23,944 +12.1% 21.85 1,228.0
99 Bolton Ontario Small 26,795 26,378 +1.6% 20.71 1,293.8
100 Midland Ontario Small 26,246 24,443 +7.4% 27.41 957.5

By province or territory

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "From urban areas to population centres". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Map: Toronto (Population Centre), Ontario". Statistics Canada, February 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Map: Ottawa - Gatineau (Population Centre), Ontario. Statistics Canada, February 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Map: Sudbury (Population Centre), Ontario. Statistics Canada, February 1, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
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