The continuing urbanization of Canada

Canada is one of the most urbanized nations, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In 2001, 79.4% of Canadians lived in an urban centre of 10,000 people or more, compared with 78.5% in 1996. During this five-year period, the population of these areas increased 5.2%, while the population living outside them declined slightly (-0.4%).

The only province in which the population of urban centres declined was Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the decline in the census metropolitan area of St. John's was less pronounced than in both the rural regions and the other urban centres in the province. As a result, 33.7% of the province's population was concentrated in St. John's in 2001, compared with 31.5% in 1996.

The Population Change Map of Canada, on the right, shows the demographic growth patterns across the country for the 1996-2001 period. Metropolitan areas near the Canada-U.S. border that attract immigrants, and whose economies are based on manufacturing or services, increased most. Populations of areas with resource-based economies declined, such as northern Quebec, northern Ontario and northern British Columbia and large segments of rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The only exception was Alberta, where the oil industry attracted newcomers.