The census metropolitan areas of Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge tied for sixth overall in Canada for the highest rate of population growth between 2018 and 2019, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Thursday that the population in each of those three Alberta CMAs rose by 2.1 per cent. Nationally the rate of population growth was 1.4 per cent. The rate of growth for all CMAs in Canada was 1.7 per cent.
As of July 1, 2019, Calgary’s population was 1,514,723 while it was 1,447,143 in Edmonton. For Canada overall it was 37,589,262.
The fastest growing CMA in Canada was Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo at 2.8 per cent followed by London at 2.3 per cent, Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part) at 2.3 per cent, Halifax at 2.2 per cent and Saskatoon at 2.2 per cent.
Breaking down the numbers by age group, in Calgary, 18.2 per cent of the population was in the 0-14 age group, 69.7 per cent in 15-64, and 12.1 per cent in 65+. Edmonton’s breakdown was 18.1 per cent in the 0-14 age group, 68.8 per cent in 15-64, and 13.1 per cent in 65+.
Canada’s breakdown was 16.0 per cent in 0-14, 66.5 per cent in 15-64 and 17.5 per cent in 65+.
Statistics Canada said the country continues to be more urbanized as the population of Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs) rose to 27.0 million (71.7 per cent). CMAs outpaced growth in the rest of the country (1.7 per cent versus 0.6 per cent).
“Permanent and temporary immigration continues to drive population growth in Canada’s CMAs, accounting for almost all of their growth in 2018/2019. In contrast, international migration accounted for just over half of the population growth in non-CMAs of the country. This trend is linked to higher targets for permanent immigration, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and to various government programs that draw many temporary workers and foreign students to the country,” it said.
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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