Canada’s population grew to 35.2 million in 2016 from 33.5 million in 2011, according to the latest census, released Wednesday.
OTTAWA – Canada’s population increased to 35,151,728 last year largely driven by growth in the West, according to 2016 census data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
The country’s population has grown five per cent since the last census in 2011, when it was at 33.5 million, the highest rate of growth among G7 countries. However, the growth rate declined from the 5.9 per cent increase recorded in 2011.
About two-thirds of the increase recorded in 2016 was due to net immigration into the country, while the rest was from new births.
The majority, or 66 per cent, of Canadians still live within 100 kilometres of the southern border with the U.S.
The number of private dwellings grew nationwide by 5.6 per cent to 14.1 million.
The population continued to boom in Western Canada. The quickest pace of growth was recorded in Alberta (11.6 per cent), Saskatchewan (6.3 per cent) and Manitoba (5.8 per cent). The three prairie provinces recorded the most growth in the country for the first time since Confederation, according to Statistics Canada, reported CBC News.
Alberta had been the fastest-growing province in the 2006 and 2011 censuses as well.
The rate of growth was higher than in 2011 in both Alberta and Manitoba, the only two provinces that registered an increased rate of growth from the last census.
It is important to note that the census was collected in May 2016, so does not fully take into account the recent economic slump in Alberta.
British Columbia also grew faster than the national average, by 5.6 per cent. Just under 32 per cent of Canadians now live in the four western provinces, compared to 38.3 per cent in Ontario, 23.2 per cent in Quebec and 6.6 per cent in Atlantic Canada.
