Canada Population

Canada is the world’s second largest land area, and has a large amount of natural resources. Most live near the US border and much of the country consists of uninhabited wilderness areas.

Key figures and facts

• Capital: Ottawa
• Ethnic groups: Canadians 32%, Englishmen 20%, French 16%, Scots 14%, Irish 14%, Germans 10%, Italians 5%, Chinese 5%, North American Indigenous people 4%, others 51% (2011) (Total is more than 100%, because respondents could identify with more than one ethnic origin.)
• Language: English (official) 59%, French (official) 22%, other 29% (2011)
• Religion: Catholics 39%, Protestants 20%, Orthodox and other Christians 8%, Muslims 3% Hindus 1%, Sikhs 1%, Jews 1%, others 1%, none 24% (2011)
• Population: 36 624 000 (2017)
• Control Form: Constitutional monarchy and federal state
• Area: 9 984 670 Km²
• Currency: Canadian dollar
• GNP per capita: 44 819 PPP $
• National Day: July 1st

Population of Canada

Canada, which has a population of 36.6 million (2017), is a young nation. The country has a cultural mix that is described as a “mosaic”, not “melting pot” like the American one.

The growth of Canada’s population is complex and has been affected in several ways: through indigenous populations, territorial expansion, and, above all, great openness to immigration. Although population density is low, 3.92 per square kilometer, more regions in the south, such as southern Ontario, have a higher population density than in many European countries.

Population of Canada by Year (Historical)

Year	Population	Annual Growth Rate	Population Density	Global Rank
2020	37,742,043	0.890%	4.1505	39
2019	37,410,936	0.910%	4.1140	39
2018	37,074,451	0.930%	4.0770	39
2017	36,731,984	0.960%	4.0394	38
2016	36,382,833	0.990%	4.0010	38
2015	36,026,565	1.080%	3.9618	37
2010	34,147,453	1.200%	3.7552	36
2005	32,164,198	1.010%	3.5371	35
2000	30,588,272	0.960%	3.3638	35
1995	29,164,041	1.150%	3.2071	33
1990	27,541,208	1.360%	3.0287	32
1985	25,744,699	1.060%	2.8311	32
1980	24,416,775	1.150%	2.6851	32
1975	23,059,154	1.530%	2.5358	31
1970	21,374,215	1.720%	2.3505	31
1965	19,627,869	1.920%	2.1585	29
1960	17,847,294	2.630%	1.9627	30
1955	15,673,652	2.680%	1.7236	30
1950	13,733,291	0.000%	1.5102	30

Major Cities in Canada by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	Toronto	2,599,889
2	Montreal	1,599,889
3	Calgary	1,019,831
4	Ottawa	812,018
5	Edmonton	712,280
6	Mississauga	668,438
7	North York	635,889
8	Winnipeg	631,952
9	Scarborough	599,889
10	Vancouver	599,889
11	Quebec	528,484
12	Hamilton	519,838
13	Brampton	433,695
14	Surrey	394,865
15	Laval	376,734
16	Halifax	359,000
17	Etobicoke	347,837
18	London	346,654
19	Okanagan	297,490
20	Victoria	289,514
21	Windsor	277,902
22	Markham	261,462
23	Oshawa	247,878
24	Gatineau	242,013
25	Vaughan	238,755
26	Kitchener	233,589
27	Longueuil	229,219
28	Burnaby	202,688
29	Ladner	199,889
30	Saskatoon	198,847
31	Richmond Hill	185,430
32	Barrie	181,930
33	Richmond	181,889
34	Nepean	179,889
35	Regina	176,072
36	Oakville	165,586
37	Burlington	164,304
38	Greater Sudbury	157,746
39	Abbotsford	151,572
40	Saguenay	143,581
41	St. Catharines	131,878
42	Sherbrooke	129,336
43	Anmore	126,345
44	Levis	126,285
45	Kelowna	124,998
46	Cambridge	120,261
47	Trois-Rivieres	119,582
48	Guelph	115,649
49	East York	115,254
50	Coquitlam	114,454
51	Kingston	114,084
52	Sydney	105,857
53	Delta	101,557
54	Dartmouth	101,232
55	Thunder Bay	99,223
56	St. John’s	99,071
57	Waterloo	97,364
58	Terrebonne	94,592
59	Ajax	90,056
60	Saint John	87,746
61	Pickering	87,727
62	Brantford	87,648
63	Moncton	87,356
64	Nanaimo	84,794
65	Milton	84,251
66	Sarnia	82,887
67	Niagara Falls	81,889
68	Willowdale	79,329
69	Saint-Laurent	77,280
70	Chilliwack	76,889
71	Repentigny	76,126
72	Fort McMurray	75,889
73	Peterborough	75,766
74	Sault Ste. Marie	74,837
75	Newmarket	74,184
76	La Haute-Saint-Charles	73,959
77	Red Deer	73,482
78	Saint-Leonard	73,312
79	Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	71,502
80	Lethbridge	70,506
81	Maple Ridge	69,889
82	Brossard	69,464
83	Kamloops	68,603
84	Notre-Dame-de-Grace	66,889
85	White Rock	66,339
86	Prince George	65,447
87	Medicine Hat	63,027
88	Norfolk County	60,736
89	Drummondville	59,378
90	New Westminster	58,438
91	St. Albert	57,608
92	Sherwood Park	54,952
93	Saint-Jerome	54,837
94	Jonquiere	54,731
95	Granby	53,868
96	Fredericton	52,226
97	Welland	50,220
98	Saint-Hyacinthe	50,215
99	North Bay	50,059
100	Belleville	49,343
101	Shawinigan	49,050
102	Dollard-Des Ormeaux	48,819
103	Cornwall	48,710
104	North Vancouver	47,889
105	Vernon	47,163
106	Blainville	46,382
107	West End	44,449
108	Chatham	43,439
109	Timmins	42,886
110	Chateauguay	42,675
111	Quinte West	42,586
112	West Vancouver	42,583
113	Charlottetown	42,291
114	Rimouski	42,129
115	Saint-Eustache	41,951
116	Grande Prairie	41,351
117	Boucherville	38,951
118	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	38,551
119	Penticton	37,610
120	St. Thomas	35,999
121	Rock Forest	35,389
122	Joliette	34,661
123	Mirabel	34,515
124	Mascouche	34,515
125	Prince Albert	34,498
126	Victoriaville	34,315
127	Brant	34,304
128	Woodstock	33,781
129	Campbell River	33,319
130	Ancaster	33,121
131	Courtenay	32,682
132	Orangeville	32,529
133	North Cowichan	32,161
134	Moose Jaw	32,055
135	Midland	31,391
136	Cote-Saint-Luc	31,284
137	Saint-Georges	31,062
138	Val-d’Or	31,012
139	Stratford	30,122
140	Orillia	30,067
141	Pointe-Claire	30,050
142	Baie-Comeau	29,697
143	Alma	29,415
144	Sainte-Julie	28,908
145	West Kelowna	28,682
146	Port Moody	27,401
147	Lloydminster	26,889
148	Boisbriand	26,372
149	Brandon	26,123
150	Vaudreuil-Dorion	25,678
151	Thetford-Mines	25,593
152	Walnut Grove	25,572
153	Prince Edward	25,385
154	Sainte-Therese	25,113
155	Airdrie	24,562
156	Mount Pearl	24,560
157	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	24,277
158	Rouyn-Noranda	23,912
159	Saint-Constant	23,846
160	Brockville	23,775
161	Langley	23,495
162	Whitehorse	23,161
163	Owen Sound	22,514
164	Chambly	22,497
165	Sept-Iles	22,471
166	Langford	22,348
167	Duncan	22,088
168	La Prairie	21,652
169	Lower Sackville	21,268
170	Port Alberni	21,171
171	Keswick	20,889
172	Varennes	20,839
173	Clarence-Rockland	20,679
174	Truro	20,539
175	Westmount	20,383
176	Kirkland	20,380
177	Lindsay	20,243
178	New Glasgow	20,211
179	Cole Harbour	19,889
180	Glace Bay	19,857
181	Huntsville	19,468
182	Terrace	19,332
183	North Battleford	19,329
184	Beaconsfield	19,083
185	Mont-Royal	18,822
186	Beloeil	18,816
187	Corner Brook	18,582
188	Cranbrook	18,499
189	Port Colborne	18,488
190	Riviere-du-Loup	18,475
191	Dieppe	18,454
192	Thorold	18,113
193	Miramichi	18,018
194	Cobourg	17,988
195	Dorval	17,977
196	Oak Bay	17,904
197	Amos	17,807
198	Spruce Grove	17,656
199	Pitt Meadows	17,299
200	Fort St. John	17,291
201	Deux-Montagnes	17,291
202	Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures	17,170
203	Conception Bay South	16,976
204	Saint-Lazare	16,905
205	Sainte-Catherine	16,651
206	L’Assomption	16,627
207	Edmundston	16,532
208	L’Ancienne-Lorette	16,405
209	Cochrane	16,254
210	Lutes Mountain	16,200
211	Sainte-Catherine	16,100
212	Salmon Arm	16,094
213	Rayside-Balfour	15,939
214	Petawawa	15,877
215	Fort Erie	15,842
216	Candiac	15,836
217	Yellowknife	15,754
218	Collingwood	15,698
219	Mont-Saint-Hilaire	15,609
220	Camrose	15,575
221	Yorkton	15,558
222	Saint-Basile-le-Grand	15,494
223	Leduc	15,450
224	Pembroke	15,440
225	Magog	15,439
226	Greater Napanee	15,021
227	Kenora	14,985
228	le Plateau	14,889
229	Fort Saskatchewan	14,846
230	Okotoks	14,715
231	Gaspe	14,708
232	Matane	14,701
233	Summerside	14,697
234	Prince Rupert	14,597
235	Swift Current	14,592
236	Colwood	14,576
237	Rosemere	14,062
238	Williams Lake	14,057
239	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	14,048
240	Simcoe	13,811
241	Quesnel	13,677
242	Bay Roberts	13,626
243	Mont-Laurier	13,294
244	Portage la Prairie	12,846
245	Dolbeau-Mistassini	12,805
246	Powell River	12,668
247	Brooks	12,633
248	Bathurst	12,603
249	Kentville	12,525
250	Elliot Lake	12,397
251	Thompson	12,356
252	Aldergrove	12,252
253	Canmore	12,177
254	Hawkesbury	12,172
255	North Perth	12,143
256	Grand Falls-Windsor	11,965
257	Parksville	11,889
258	Beauharnois	11,807
259	Ingersoll	11,763
260	Montmagny	11,613
261	Cold Lake	11,484
262	Sainte-Marie	11,473
263	Uxbridge	11,420
264	Fall River	11,415
265	Amherstburg	11,348
266	Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac	11,200
267	Wetaskiwin	11,191
268	Pincourt	11,086
269	Paris	11,066
270	Becancour	11,023
271	North Saanich	10,978
272	Cowansville	10,776
273	Dawson Creek	10,691
274	Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines	10,569
275	Lambton Shores	10,545
276	Sainte-Adele	10,523
277	Les Coteaux	10,511
278	Whistler	10,489
279	Smiths Falls	10,442
280	Sylvan Lake	10,407
281	Temiskaming Shores	10,331
282	Cantley	10,301
283	Rawdon	10,289
284	Labrador City	10,202
285	Angus	10,158
286	Prevost	10,021
287	Mercier	10,010
288	Lacombe	9,948
289	Strathmore	9,898
290	Hanceville	9,889
291	South Huron	9,871
292	Bells Corners	9,866
293	L’Ile-Perrot	9,816
294	Estevan	9,793
295	Hinton	9,778
296	Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot	9,774
297	High River	9,715
298	Nelson	9,702
299	Carleton Place	9,632
300	Trail	9,596
301	Selkirk	9,542
302	Lorraine	9,502
303	Steinbach	9,496
304	Arnprior	9,496
305	Lachute	9,451
306	Val-des-Monts	9,428
307	La Tuque	9,392
308	Weyburn	9,251
309	Amherst	9,225
310	Dorchester	9,218
311	Roberval	9,176
312	Saint-Raymond	9,162
313	Huron East	9,153
314	Kapuskasing	9,129
315	Saint-Sauveur	9,080
316	Oromocto	8,887
317	Kitimat	8,876
318	La Malbaie	8,848
319	Stony Plain	8,828
320	Mont-Tremblant	8,781
321	Binbrook	8,685
322	Whitecourt	8,652
323	Lavaltrie	8,651
324	Ladysmith	8,629
325	Pont-Rouge	8,612
326	Castlegar	8,604
327	Otterburn Park	8,353
328	Dauphin	8,307
329	Bois-des-Filion	8,272
330	Winkler	8,159
331	Concord	8,144
332	Bracebridge	8,127
333	Notre-Dame-des-Prairies	8,119
334	Dryden	8,084
335	Taber	8,052
336	Morinville	7,997
337	Silver Berry	7,978
338	Saint-Felicien	7,977
339	Saint-Hippolyte	7,972
340	Bridgewater	7,959
341	Goderich	7,921
342	Wild Rose	7,920
343	Renfrew	7,907
344	Edson	7,864
345	Fort Frances	7,820
346	Chandler	7,803
347	Kirkland Lake	7,664
348	Slave Lake	7,550
349	Happy Valley-Goose Bay	7,461
350	Wasaga Beach	7,456
351	Chibougamau	7,452
352	Revelstoke	7,422
353	Aylmer	7,416
354	Pont Rouge	7,407
355	Camlachie	7,395
356	Banff	7,391
357	Yarmouth	7,389
358	Carignan	7,315
359	Campbellton	7,273
360	Beaumont	7,255
361	Innisfil	7,234
362	Delson	7,211
363	Sydney Mines	7,201
364	Baie-Saint-Paul	7,177
365	Hanover	7,144
366	La Sarre	7,095
367	Asbestos	7,079
368	Merritt	7,068
369	Bluewater	6,933
370	Coaticook	6,910
371	Hampstead	6,885
372	Olds	6,836
373	Greenwood	6,804
374	Gibsons	6,710
375	Carbonear	6,703
376	Saint-Zotique	6,662
377	Kincardine	6,614
378	Plessisville	6,566
379	Brownsburg-Chatham	6,553
380	Ponoka	6,545
381	Mont-Joli	6,457
382	Rocky Mountain House	6,416
383	Kimberley	6,402
384	Perth	6,370
385	Parry Sound	6,358
386	Pointe-Calumet	6,285
387	Morden	6,284
388	Coaldale	6,206
389	Summerland	6,181
390	Stephenville	6,167
391	Amqui	6,150
392	Beauceville	6,115
393	Saint-Joseph-du-Lac	6,084
394	Sooke	6,034
395	Iqaluit	6,013
396	Drayton Valley	5,988
397	Farnham	5,950
398	The Pas	5,944
399	Bromont	5,938
400	Saint-Felix-de-Valois	5,918

Ethnic groups

In total, over 200 ethnic groups are registered. The ethnic composition is constantly changing through waves of immigration of different ethnicities throughout the 20th century. Social affiliation and identification with one’s own ethnic group have traditionally been strong. However, in the late 1900s, marriage between people of different origins began to become more frequent. At the same time, since 1996, the census shows that more and more of the traditional English- and French-speaking groups are changing to defining their origin as ‘Canadian’.

Especially after 1979, large groups immigrated from the Third World and especially from different parts of Asia. In the period 2006-2010, almost 1.2 million people or 3.8 percent of the population immigrated in 2001. In 2006, 56.9 percent of the immigrants were from Asia, most from the Philippines (13 percent). 20.6 percent of the population (2011) was born outside Canada. This is the second highest percentage in the world after Australia. There are 6.8 million foreign-born residents in Canada (2011).

At the 2011 census, 41 percent responded that they had all or part Canadian origin, 20.7 percent fully or partially English (census 2006), 16.1 percent wholly or partly French (census 2006), 14.1 percent wholly or partly Scottish, 14 percent wholly or partly Irish and almost 10 percent wholly or partly German origin. About 1.2 million people (3.2 percent of the population) are of Scandinavian origin. Canada has 452,705 people with all or part of Norwegian origin (2011), and most live in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

A newer type of immigration has led to the proportion of so-called “visible minority groups ” (defined as non-white, non-European or not belonging to the indigenous population) to 19 percent of the population (2011). Among other things, the Chinese count 1.3 million people or 4 percent of the population. Most of the “visible minorities” group live in the metropolises Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, which are among the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

In bilingual Canada, the French speakers claim to be a “special society”. Their core business is the province of Quebec, where the ⁴/₅ of the population has French as a first language. New Brunswick, where the French-speaking counts ¹/₃ of the population, is the only province that has both English and French as official languages. French is the official language of Quebec and English in the other provinces and in all territories.

Aborigines

1.4 million people, or 4.3 percent of the country’s residents (2011), identify themselves as indigenous people. Canada has the world’s second highest proportion of indigenous people after New Zealand. They are divided into three main groups: ‘ First Nations ‘ (Indigenous people south of the Arctic Circle, formerly called ‘ Indians ‘ – 851 560 people), Métis (451 795) and Inuit (59 445).

The non-Arctic indigenous people immigrated from Asia once between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago. In the 16th century, the number was about 350,000, but after the introduction of European diseases the number dropped to about 100,000. Around half live in various forms of reserves. Every province has indigenous communities, but most live in a belt from Ontario to British Columbia and north into the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Relatively few indigenous people live in Nunavut.

Métis has ancestry from both indigenous peoples and Europeans dating back to the pre-1800s. An increased focus on constitutional rights has led to a significant increase in the number of people who identify themselves as métis after 1996. Most métis communities are in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

Inuit (formerly called Eskimos) immigrated from Asia between 4000 and 8000 years ago. Half of the Canadian Inuit live in Nunavut, ¹/₅ in Québec and ¹/₁₀ respectively in Labrador and the Northwest Territories. In Nunavut, they comprise 84.1 percent of the population (2016). 65-70 percent of Canadian Inuit speak the Inuktitut language regularly. First Nations and Inuit, and to some extent the Métis, have significantly higher birth rates than the rest of the Canadian population. It helps to make their communities very young. Some indigenous communities have an average age of less than 20 years.

Canada never experienced “Indian wars” and massacres following the pattern of the United States. Nevertheless, the indigenous population south of the Arctic Circle was forced to relinquish their traditional ways of life relatively quickly. The Inuit, on the other hand, continued with their traditional ways of living until the 1950s. In time, the indigenous population became more politically active. It has demanded increased political rights, land rights and control over mineral extraction. This political development has taken place with less resistance than, for example, in the United States. Yet it has been hampered by constitutional and political problems.

Immigration History

With the exception of the Vikings around the year 1000, the French were the first Europeans to settle in what is today Canada. The first French arrived in the area at the beginning of the 16th century, but the settlement first started in the 1600s. In 1663, 60,000 French settlers lived in what was then the French province of Canada. These are the ancestors of most of today’s French speakers.

Other immigration first came during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), when about 50,000 English loyalists moved from the United States to Canada (which had been formally renounced to England in 1763). Throughout the 19th century, the population grew due to immigration, high birth rates and low mortality to 3.5 million in 1867, when self-government was granted.

Extensive immigration continued in the late 1800s and up to 1920, and after the Second World War a new wave of immigrants came. The late 1950s and early 1960s had declining immigration before beginning to rise again after 1979.

In 1979–1980, more than 60,000 boat refugees arrived after the communist victory in Vietnam. In the 1990s, asylum seekers from all over the world came to Canada, especially from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. In 1992, some 5,000 Bosnian Muslims settled, and in 1999 more than 3900 Karen refugees from camps in Thailand. In 2015, more than 23,000 Iraqi refugees arrived and between November 2015 and January 2017 more than 40,000 Syrian refugees came to Canada.

Settlement

The population is very unevenly distributed, and for climatic reasons, almost 90 percent live in a relatively narrow belt along the southern border towards the United States. The largest population density is along the Saint Lawrence River and in the lowlands of the Ontario Peninsula (the part of Ontario that lies between Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Lake Huron with Georgian Bay), with well over half of Canada’s population. The two provinces of Ontario and Quebec have a total of 61.5 percent of the population. To the north are the thinnest areas in the world outside of Antarctica. Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which together cover 41 percent of Canada’s area, have only 0.5 percent of the population. The northern parts of Alberta,Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and all of Labrador are also very sparsely populated.

The trend since the latter part of the 1990s is that population growth is mainly concentrated in four large urban regions. Golden Horseshoe (‘Golden Horseshoes ‘) with Toronto (Ontario) as the center, the Montreal area (Quebec), the Vancouver area and southern Vancouver Vancouver Island (British Columbia) and the so-called Calgary – Edmonton corridor (Alberta).

Biggest cities

Metropolitan areas (metropolitan areas):

Metro Area	Residents (2016)
Toronto	5 928 040
Montreal	4 098 927
Vancouver	2 463 431
Calgary	1 469 300
Ottawa-Gatineau	1 323 783
Edmonton	1 321 426
Winnipeg	811 874
Québec	800 296
Hamilton	721 053