Population of metropolitan area of Toronto outpaced national growth rate over last 5 years

OTTAWA -- New census data shows the population of the metropolitan area of Toronto outpaced the national growth rate over the last five years.

Statistics Canada released the first batch of numbers from the 2016 census on Wednesday and the population of what the government agency refers to as the census metropolitan area of Toronto increased by 6.2 per cent since the last census in 2011.

Click here to see what areas are included in the census metropolitan area of Toronto 

The area's growth rate was above the national growth rate of 5.0 per cent, while the population of Ontario increased by 4.6 per cent.

Census metropolitan areas do not conform to established municipal boundaries. Statistics Canada defines them as a metropolitan area with a population of at least 100,000, where the urban core of that area has at least 50,000 people. Commuting patterns and other factors are used in determining these census metropolitan areas. Looking at metropolitan areas this way takes in to account the growing impact of suburban areas on Canada's largest cities.

When the 2016 census was taken last May 10, the population of the census metropolitan area of Toronto was 5,928,040, compared with 5,583,064 from the 2011 census. The population of the actual city of Toronto was 2,731,571, up from 2,615,060 in 2011.

The census indicated that Toronto ranked No. 1 among the country's 35 census metropolitan areas.

Canada's population on census day was 35,151,728, Statistics Canada reported.

The national census is conducted every five years. The information published Wednesday is the first of several releases of data to come from Statistics Canada over the next year that will eventually paint a detailed picture of the country, right down to the local level - including age breakdowns of the population, family makeup, languages spoken, immigration and ethnic origin, the level of education attained and income earned.

Future census releases will give more insight to explain the reasons behind the population changes - whether it's related mostly to changes in birth and death rates, immigration or interprovincial migration.

At the provincial level, population levels in Alberta saw the highest increase at 11.6 per cent, followed by Saskatchewan (6.3 per cent) and Manitoba (5.8 per cent).

Growth in New Brunswick shrank by 0.5 per cent - the first time since 2006 a province has reported a negative growth rate.

British Columbia's population levels increased by 5.6 per cent, compared with Ontario (4.6 per cent), Quebec (3.3 per cent), Prince Edward Island (1.9 per cent), Newfoundland and Labrador (1.0 per cent) and Nova Scotia (0.2 per cent). Among the northern territories, the population grew by 0.8 per cent in the Northwest Territories, 12.7 per cent in Nunavut and 5.8 per cent in Yukon.

Ontario is still the country's most populous province, with a population of 13,448,494. The population of other provinces and territories: Quebec, 8,164,361; British Columbia, 4,648,055; Alberta, 4,067,175; Manitoba, 1,278,365; Saskatchewan, 1,098,352; Nova Scotia, 923,598; New Brunswick, 747,101; Newfoundland and Labrador, 519,716; Prince Edward Island, 142,907; Northwest Territories, 41,786; Nunavut, 35,944 and Yukon, 35,874.

Here is a local breakdown of census population information for communities in the Toronto region:

Community 2016 2011 % change

Metropolitan Toronto 5,928,040 5,583,064 6.2

City of Toronto 2,731,571 2,615,060 4.5

Mississauga 721,599 713,443 1.1

Brampton 593,638 523,906 13.3

Caledon 66,502 59,460 11.8

Oakville 193,832 182,520 6.2

Burlington 183,314 175,779 4.3

Milton 110,128 84,362 30.5

Halton Hills 61,161 59,013 3.6

Pickering 91,771 88,721 3.4

Ajax 119,677 109,600 9.2

Oshawa 159,458 149,607 6.6

Vaughan 306,233 288,301 6.2

Markham 328,966 301,709 9.0

Richmond Hill 195,022 185,541 5.1

Whitchurch-Stouffville 45,837 37,628 21.8

Aurora 55,445 53,203 4.2

Newmarket 84,224 79,978 5.3

King 24,512 19,899 23.2

East Gwillimbury 23,991 22,473 6.8

Georgina 45,418 43,517 4.4

Brock 11,642 11,341 2.7

Clarington 92,013 84,548 8.8

Scugog 21,617 21,569 0.2

Uxbridge 21,176 20,623 2.7

Whitby 128,377 122,022 5.2