Canada remains the fastest-growing country in the G7, according to new data from the latest census.
Statistics Canada says the population grew by 5.2 per cent between 2016 and 2021, almost twice the pace of other G7 countries.
The population in Canada stood at just under 37 million people on census day — May 11, 2021 — an increase of 1.8 million people.
Most of the growth recorded over the past five years came before the onset of the pandemic in 2020, according to the agency.
The country’s population rose by a record high of 583,000 people in 2019 before slowing to its lowest growth rate in a century of 160,000 the following year.
Statistics Canada said for the first time since the 1940s, the population of the Maritimes grew at a faster pace than the Prairie provinces,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island welcomed a record number of immigrants from 2016 to 2021, with most arriving before the pandemic.
More people also moved to the Maritimes from other parts of Canada than moved away, a trend that started prior to the pandemic.
“Were it not for these international and internal migratory increases, the population of all three Maritime provinces would likely have fallen since, like Newfoundland and Labrador, they all recorded more deaths than births from 2016 to 2021,” said Statistics Canada.
New Brunswick’s population grew by more than 28,500 people to 775,610, an increase of 3.8 per cent. The province saw its population drop by 0.5 per cent during the last census between 2011 and 2016.
The province’s three census metropolitan areas (CMAs) also saw their populations increase by between 3.5 and 8.9 per cent over the past five years.
The Moncton CMA grew by 8.9 per cent to 157,717, compared to a four per cent rise in the previous census.
The Fredericton CMA had the second-highest population growth at 5.8 per cent to 108,610. That was nearly double the 3.5 per cent growth between 2011 and 2016.
The Saint John CMA, which saw its population drop in the last census, recorded 3.5 per cent increase this time around to 130,613.
When you look at the population of downtown (or uptown) areas, Fredericton increased by 7.3 per cent to 11,813, Moncton climbed by 11.1 per cent to 8,708, and Saint John saw a 7.3 per cent increase to 8,221.
Statistics Canada reported nearly 15 million private dwellings occupied by a usual resident in 2021, up 6.4 per cent compared with 2016.
Yukon saw the fastest growing rate at 12.9 per cent, followed by Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, and Alberta.
New Brunswick recorded a 5.6 per cent increase to 337,651.
Your census, your stories: #CanadasPortrait!
New population and dwelling counts from the #2021Census are now available: https://t.co/tcWb7DVkyO . pic.twitter.com/TTqMRwA7Xe
— Statistics Canada (@StatCan_eng) February 9, 2022