Canada's Fastest Growing Cities (Part 1): Fastest Growing in the G7

We’re taking a look at the fastest growing nation in the G7 group of countries—that self-proclaimed group of the most advanced economies in the world...

And it may come as some surprise to you, but the fastest growing nation among them is Canada—the Great White North—and, more specifically, we’ll be exploring its fastest growing cities.

We’ll discuss why Canada is experiencing such healthy growth, see how it compares to other countries around the world, and examine its 10 largest and 10 fastest growing metropolitan areas.

Oh, Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world by land mass, filled with vast swathes of pristine lakes, mountains, forests, prairies, and arctic tundra. But despite its immense scale, it’s only the 37th largest country in the world by population—having reached a symbolic milestone of 40 million people in 2023.

For a bit of context, this is approaching 1/8th the population of its neighbor to the south, the United States. This gives it a very low population density overall, but since 90% of its population lives within a narrow (100-mile) band along its southern border, over 80% of its population is concentrated in urban centers. And the urbanization of its population continues as the country grows.

2021 Census

In 2022, the results of Canada’s 2021 Census were released and showed that over a five-year period, Canada grew by a total of 5.2%. This meant Canada was the fastest growing member state of the G7, and grew at almost twice the rate of the next leading G7 countries, which were the United Kingdom at 2.9% growth and the United States at 2.6%.

This also placed it as the 7th fastest growing country in the G20 group of countries—just behind Mexico at 5.6% and only fractionally higher than India, which also grew by roughly 5.2%.

Why is it Growing?

So why is Canada growing so fast? Well, in a word: immigration.

Like most of the advanced economies in the Western World, Canada’s natural fertility rate dropped below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman decades ago, down to 1.4 births per woman in 2020.

Partly to compensate for its dwindling domestic birth rate, Canada long-ago implemented a comparatively liberal and well-regulated immigration system that, along with the country’s high standard of living, has made it a top global destination for newcomers.

And so in order to not just sustain growth, but also fuel an economy with access to a deep international pool of skilled labor, the Canadian government has, for many years now, maintained one of the highest rates of immigration of any country in the world.

Over the previous census period this amounted to admitting about 300k new immigrants a year, or around 0.8% of its total population. That’s enough to create a new city of one-million people every 3 to 4 years.

Of course, Canada is not building an entirely new major city every three years, so where are all of these newcomers going?

Its Cities

There are a number of urban centers that have historically been major magnets for immigration—these have typically included Canada’s three largest centers of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

While these cities still take in their fair share of new immigrants, soaring housing costs over the last few decades—especially in Toronto and Vancouver—have resulted in a now well-documented internal migration from overpriced major centers towards more affordable second- and third-tier cities, which is a trend most pronounced in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, where Vancouver and Toronto are respectively located.

In recent years, COVID-related factors have only intensified some of these demographic trends. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s first explore Canada’s fastest growing cities!

Largest Metropolitan Areas

First, let’s take a look at Canada’s 10 largest metropolitan areas ("Census Metropolitan Areas" or CMAs, as defined by Statistics Canada) and their growth over the last five-year census period, starting with the slowest growing at No. 10:

Quebec City grew by 4.1%

Montreal grew by 4.57%

Toronto grew by 4.63%

Hamilton grew by 5.0%

Calgary grew by 6.4%

Winnipeg grew by 6.6%

Vancouver grew by 7.28%

Edmonton grew by 7.32%

Ottawa grew by 8.5%

Kitchener-Waterloo grew 9.9%

Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas

Now that we’re familiar with Canada’s largest metropolitan areas, let’s take a look at its 10 fastest growing—all of which are over 100k in population, but most of which you’ve probably never heard of (if you're not from Canada):

Moncton grew by 8.9%

Guelph grew by 9.0%

Halifax grew by 9.1%

Oshawa grew by 9.3%

Kitchener-Waterloo grew 9.9%

Kamloops grew by 10.0%

London grew by 10.0%

Nanaimo grew by 10.0%

Chilliwack grew by 12.1%

Kelowna grew by 14.0%

Key Takeaways

There are at least two broad trends these lists highlight:

1. The growth of Canada’s smaller centres is outpacing that of larger ones.

2. The highest growth centres are located in British Columbia, Ontario, and the East Coast.

This is just the beginning of Canada's growth story, so if you're curious to delve deeper into the implications of this rapid expansion, join us for Part 2, where we'll take a closer look at the forces behind this transformation and what it means for Canada, its cities, and its citizens.

Let Us Know

Let us know in the comments below if any of these cities or trends surprise you or if you think one of these smaller metropolitan areas is going to be Canada's next major city. And if you enjoyed this article, please let us know by hitting “like” and subscribe. Thanks for reading!