Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2011 Census

Highlights

• On May 10, 2011, 33,476,688 people were enumerated in the census. This is almost twice as many as in 1961 and approximately 10 times as many as in the 1861 Census.
• Between 2006 and 2011, Canada's population grew by 5.9%, up slightly from the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006), when it grew by 5.4%.
• Canada's population growth between 2006 and 2011 was the highest among G8 countries, as was the case in the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006).
• Every province and most territories saw its population increase between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of population growth increased in all provinces and territories between 2006 and 2011, except in Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• Saskatchewan had a strong increase in the growth of its population, going from -1.1% between 2001 and 2006 to 6.7% between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of population growth has doubled in Yukon and Manitoba since 2006.
• The rate of population growth of Prince Edward Island (+3.2%), New Brunswick (+2.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.8%) has increased substantially between 2006 and 2011.
• The rate of Ontario's population growth declined slightly in the past five years to 5.7%, its lowest level since the period between the 1981 and 1986 censuses.
• In Quebec, population growth increased slightly, from 4.3% between 2001 and 2006 to 4.7% between 2006 and 2011.
• In 2011, the population share of the Prairie provinces and British Columbia was 30.7%, for the first time surpassing that of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec combined (30.6%).
• In metropolitan and non-metropolitan Canada, only census metropolitan areas as a group have registered a population growth above the national average since 2006, 7.4% compared with 5.9%.
• In 2011, more than 23.1 million people, or nearly 7 Canadians in 10 (69.1%), were living in one of Canada's 33 census metropolitan areas, an increase compared with 2006 (68.1%).
• Of all census metropolitan areas located in the Prairie provinces and British Columbia, only Winnipeg (+5.1%) and Victoria (+4.4%) had population growth below the national average.
• The rate of population growth in almost all census metropolitan areas located in Ontario slowed between 2006 and 2011.
• Between 2006 and 2011, 10 of 15 census agglomerations with the highest population growth were located in Alberta.