Canada has experienced one of the smallest census-to-census growth rates in its population. Between 1996 and 2001, the nation's population increased by 1,160,333 people, a gain of 4%. The Census counted 30,007,094 people in Canada on May 15, 2001, compared with 28,846,761 in 1996. Growth rates decelerated in every province except Alberta, compared with the early 1990s.

Only three provinces and one territory registered growth rates above the national average of 4%. Alberta's population surged by 10.3%, compared with 5.9% between 1991 and 1996. Ontario gained 6.1%, British Columbia 4.9% and Nunavut 8.1%.

Six provinces experienced small changes in population (less than 1.5% in either direction): Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The population of Newfoundland and Labrador declined for the second consecutive census period. Between 1996 and 2001, the province's population decreased 7%, more than double the 2.9% rate of decline during the previous five years. Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories also showed declines of more than 5%.

For Canada as a whole, immigration was the main source of growth in population between 1996 and 2001, as the nation experienced a decline of about one-third in natural increase (the difference between births and deaths) compared with the previous 5-year period.

The trend in urbanization continued. In 2001, 79.4% of Canadians lived in an urban area with a population of 10,000 people or more, compared with 78.5% in 1996.

Seven of 27 census metropolitan areas had a growth rate at least double that of the national average of 4%; the largest growth rates were in Calgary, Oshawa and Toronto.

From 1996 to 2001, the nation's population has continued to concentrate further in four broad urban regions: the extended Golden Horseshoe in southern Ontario; Montréal and its adjacent region; the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and southern Vancouver Island; and the Calgary-Edmonton corridor¹. Between 1996 and 2001, these four regions combined grew 7.6% compared with virtually no growth (+0.5%) in the rest of the country. In 2001, 51% of Canada's population lived in these regions compared with 49% in 1996.