Population boom: Ottawa the second fastest growing city in Canada

OTTAWA — The City of Ottawa is enjoying a growth spurt.

Statistics Canada says Ottawa tied with London, Ont. for the second fastest growing census metropolitan areas in Canada during the 2018-19 period.

A new report shows Ottawa’s population grew by 2.3 per cent year over year. An estimated 1,095,134 people lived in the capital on July 1, 2019.

Gatineau’s population grew 1.5 per cent in the 2018-19 period, to an estimated 345,984 people.

Kitchener-Waterloo was the fastest growing census metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2.8 per cent population growth.

Statistics Canada says Ontario was home to the fastest-growing CMAs for the second consecutive year, “the arrival of many permanent and temporary immigrants played a key role in their growth.”

In Alberta, population growth increased by 2.1 per cent in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge in 2018-19. No census metropolitan area in Canada saw a decrease in population over the course of the year.

The Statistics Canada report shows 26,952,447 people lived in census metropolitan areas on July 1, 2019, up 1.7 per cent from the previous year. It’s estimated 71 per cent of Canada’s population lives in metropolitan areas.