Canada goes suburban

Census shows boom in cities around Toronto

 

Carly Weeks and Melissa Leong, CanWest News Service; National Post

 

Published: Wednesday, March 14, 2007

 

A population surge largely concentrated in areas on the outskirts of Canada's largest cities suggests this is increasingly a nation of suburbs, according to census data released yesterday.

 

Figures from Statistics Canada show the growth rate of "peripheral municipalities" or "edge cities" from 2001 to 2006 was more than double that of the national average of 5.4%, as urbanites searched for more room and more affordable living.

 

The municipalities surrounding Toronto had growth rates four times the national average in the last census period, with Brampton expanding 33%, Vaughan 31%, Whitby 27% and Markham 25%.

 

Milton saw its population balloon 71% in the same period, and Barrie's growth rate hit 19%. Meanwhile, Toronto grew just 0.9%.

 

The overwhelming majority of Canadians live in cities, with four out of five people residing in urban areas and almost half of the country's residents living in six metropolitan centres.

 

"As cities go beyond the one million [population] mark, they naturally branch out," said Sasha Tsenkova, director of the University of Calgary's planning program. "This a very long-term trend that continues to build momentum."

 

In fact, nine of Canada's 25 most populous cities are on the fringes of Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver and include Mississauga, Laval and Surrey.

 

This growth "presents many challenges for metropolitan centres, especially in the areas of transportation, public services and the environment," the Statistics Canada report said.

 

The population statistics, the first of several census data reports to be released this year, illustrate significant trends that have contributed to major shifts in where people live in Canada.

 

Immigration and an unprecedented economic boom in Alberta fuelled a population surge in the country that outpaced every other G8 industrialized nation from 2001 to 2006, including the United States.

 

Canada's population increased by about 1.6 million in the past census period to about 31.6 million in 2006.

 

At a time when declining birth rates are plaguing many developed countries, Canada's population rise was due in major part to an influx of immigrants. It marks the first time since 1991 that the population increased faster than in the previous census period, which saw 4% growth.

 

"In most of the industrialized countries, the trend in population growth is toward a decline," said Laurent Martel, senior population analyst at Statistics Canada. "[Canada] is the smallest population, but it's the fastest- growing population."

 

Ontario and Alberta experienced the largest population increases in Canada, accounting for two-thirds of the country's total growth during the census period. Nearly all of the remaining population growth occurred in British Columbia and Quebec.

 

Alberta had the country's highest population growth at 10.6%, outpacing its own growth of 10.3% in the previous five-year period.

 

Jasmine Wang is one of the many new immigrants to Canada who decided to settle in Alberta after hearing about the abundance of jobs and opportunities.

 

 

"It's mainly because of the economy here. It's booming, so I think maybe I will get more working opportunities here," Ms. Wang said.

 

"I have been working for six months already. Actually, I got a job very fast, right after I came here."

 

Ms. Wang arrived in Calgary from China about a year ago with her husband and son and was able to find full-time work in her field of freight exports within a few months.

 

International migration accounted for two-thirds of Canada's population growth in the last census period.

 

That's in stark comparison to the United States, where 60% of the growth was due to a natural increase from the number of births exceeding the number of deaths.

 

The census shows high immigration levels were responsible for much of Ontario's 6.6% population increase. Half of Canada's growth rate occurred in Ontario during the census period.

 

The immense urban sprawl occurring in Canada and the subsequent strain on transportation, housing and planning is one of the largest challenges the country will be confronted with in the near future, said Betsy Donald, urban geography professor at Queen's University.

 

"This kind of growth is not sustainable," Ms. Donald said in an interview yesterday.

 

"To me, it's one of the most compelling policy challenges of our day. How are we going to manage that kind of suburban growth we are now seeing in Canada?"

 

While fewer than one in five Canadians live in rural areas, the number of those residing outside urban centres rose by about one per cent between 2001 and 2006 after decreasing by about 0.4% in the previous census period.

 

The only provinces to experience a population decrease during the census period were Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

The population of all four Atlantic provinces remained "virtually unchanged" since 2001, at about 2.3 million, according to Statistics Canada.

 

Although Canada experienced an overall population increase in the last census period, growth is still significantly slower than it was 50 years ago.

 

Canada's population increased 13.4% from 1956 to 1961, according to Statistics Canada. Since then, lower fertility rates and a rise in deaths have contributed to a decline in population growth, both here and in other industrialized nations.

 

Statistics Canada will release other figures over the course of the next year, including information on age and sex to be released in July, as well as later releases on marital status, labour market activity, education, ethnic origin and income.

 

URBAN CENTRES

 

Largest urban centres (includes surrounding municipalities)

 

1. Toronto, 5,113,149 2. Montreal, 3,635,571 3. Vancouver, 2,116,581 4. Ottawa-Gatineau, 1,130,761 5. Calgary, 1,079,310 6. Edmonton, 1,034,945 7. Quebec, 715,515 8. Winnipeg, 694,668 9. Hamilton, 692,911 10. London, Ont., 457,720 11. Kitchener, 451,235 12. St. Catharines-Niagara, 390,317 13. Halifax, 372,858 14. Oshawa, 330,088 15. Victoria 330,088 16. Windsor, Ont., 323,342 17. Saskatoon 233,923 18. Regina 194,971 19. Sherbrooke, 186,952 20. St. John's,Nfld., 181,113

 

Compiled by Kirsten Smith, CanWest News Service

 

 

 

 

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