One metro in Alberta saw its population rise by 19% over the past five years

The population across major centres in Alberta have been booming, and some areas have seen a drastic increase over the past five years.

Statistics Canada says as of July 1, 2025, the combined population of Canada’s 41 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), large urban centres with populations above 100,000, reached 31,169,100.

A census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core).

All CMAs across Canada saw a slower increase in the number of non-permanent residents, with 16 showing a decrease from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025.

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While experiencing a slowdown, the population growth of several CMAs was strong. From July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, growth rates in the Edmonton CMA sat at three per cent while Calgary CMA sat at 2.9 per cent, the first and third largest among all CMAs.

Permanent immigration was the leading factor of growth; the increase in the number of non-permanent residents and gains from migratory exchanges with other provinces also contributed significantly to growth in the Edmonton and Calgary CMAs.

Albert Pego/Shutterstock │ Ronnie Chua/Shutterstock

Looking at the span of five years, these population centres with over 50,000 residents in Alberta saw the following gains:

• Calgary (CMA) population went from 1,540,242 in 2021 to 1,836,012 in 2025, an increase of 19.2 per cent
• Edmonton (CMA) population went from 1,472,402 in 2021 to 1,692,385 in 2025, an increase of 14.9 per cent
• Lethbridge (CMA) population went from 128,503 in 2021 to 143,143 in 2025, an increase of 11.4 per cent
• Red Deer (CMA) population went from 104,429 in 2021 to 115,273 in 2025, an increase of 10.4 per cent
• Wood Buffalo (CA) population went from 76,888 in 2021 to 83,376 in 2025, an increase of 8.4 per cent
• Medicine Hat (CA) population went from 78,780 in 2021 to 82,880 in 2025, an increase of 5.2 per cent
• Grande Prairie (CA) population went from 66,628 in 2021 to 72,120 in 2025, an increase of 8.2 per cent

From July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, Canada’s three largest CMAs each recorded net losses from the migratory exchanges with other provinces.

In contrast, for the third consecutive year, the largest net gains from interprovincial migration among CMAs were in Edmonton (+11,742) and Calgary (+11,195). While these gains were smaller than those from the previous year, they remain among the highest seen for any CMA since at least 2001/2002.

With the largest urban centres seeing their population grow at a pace close to the rest of the country, the rate of urbanization in Canada is unchanged from a year prior, with three in four  Canadians living in a CMA as of July 1, 2025. Except for the 2020-to-2021 period — at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — this is the first time since at least 2001/2002 (when comparable records began) that Canada’s urbanization rate has not increased on a year-over-year basis.

If you were curious which areas around Edmonton and Calgary are seeing the most people pop up in, we’ve got you covered for YEG and YYC.

You can view the population estimates on the Statistics Canada website.