These are fastest-growing cities in British Columbia: census

Aerial of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley; the Lower Mainland of BC. (European Space Agency)

Census data compiled and analyzed by Statistics Canada in 2021 provides an updated picture of what kind of urban growth the country is experiencing.

Based on today’s newly released statistics, the fastest-growing census metropolitan area (CMA) — urban regions that may include multiple local and municipal jurisdictions — in British Columbia between 2016 and 2021 was Squamish. There was a 21.8% increase in the population from 19,893 to 24,232 residents.

This follows a growth trend in Squamish that began with the Sea to Sky Highway improvements in the late 2000s before the 2010 Olympics, which opened up new housing and employment opportunities in and around the community.

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There are 28 CMAs in BC. The next fastest-growing CMAs were Kelowna at 14%, Chilliwack at 12.1%, Salmon Arm at 10.1%, Nanaimo and Kamloops tied at 10%, Vernon at 9.4%, Courtenay at 9.2%, Penticton at 8.8%, Abbotsford-Mission at 8.4%, Victoria at 16%, Campbell River at 7.5%, and Parksville at 7.4%.

Four of the five fastest-growing CMAs in the entire country were in BC, including Kelowna, Chilliwack, Kamloops, and Nanaimo.

Of particular interest, of course, Metro Vancouver CMA’s population grew by 7.3%, from 2.463 million in 2016 to 2.643 million in 2021.

While the city of Vancouver’s population took a hit in 2020-2021 due to the pandemic, the losses were offset by the gains years earlier, with an overall 4.9% growth from 631,486 residents in 2016 to 662,248 residents in 2021.

Vancouver is also the fastest-growing core city of Canada’s three largest CMAs, with its rate of growth exceeding the cities of Toronto’s 2.3% and Montreal’s 3.4%.

But Vancouver is also by far the smallest core city of Canada’s largest urban regions, with a 2021 population that is just 24% of the city of Toronto and 38% of the city of Montreal.

Vancouver ranks as the eighth-largest city in population in the country, wedged between two of Toronto’s suburban cities — behind Mississauga with 717,961 residents (-0.5% over five years) but ahead of Brampton with 656,480 (+10.6% over five years).

Cities that account for most of their CMA urban regions include Calgary at third place with 1.307 million residents (+5.5% over five years). Ottawa follows at fourth place with 1.02 million residents (+8.9% over five years), Edmonton at fifth place with 1.01 million residents (+8.3% over five years), and Winnipeg at sixth place with 750,000 residents (+6.3% over five years).

Surrey ranks as Canada’s 11th most populated city, with a population of 568,322 in 2021 — up by 9.7% from 517,887 in 2021. Surrey is just behind Hamilton at 569,353 (+6% over five years) and ahead of Quebec City at 549,459 (+3.3%).

Of the 25 most populated Canadian cities, Surrey’s five-year growth rate is the fifth highest. Surrey is anticipated to overtake Vancouver within the next 20 years.

Between 2016 and 2021, the Metro Vancouver municipality with the highest rate of growth was Langley District at 13.1%, followed by Langley City at 11.9%, New Westminster at 11.2%, Maple Ridge at 10.6%, White Rock at 10%, and North Vancouver City at 9.9%.

Within the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford’s municipal population grew from 141,397 in 2016 to 153,524 in 2021 — an increase of 8.6%. Further east, the population of Chilliwack went up by 11.2%, from 83,788 in 2016 to 93,203 in 2021.

Growing housing costs and the pandemic’s shift in living preferences have accelerated the population growth of the region’s most outlying communities, where housing is generally more affordable and spacious.

The provincial capital city of Victoria saw its population rise by 7.1% — from 85,792 in 2016 to 91,87 in 2021.

In total, BC’s population in 2021 reached 5,000,879, which represents a 7.6% increase from 2016, and is higher than the national rate of 5.2%. There were 2,041,834 occupied homes in the province, which represents an increase of 8.5% over five years.

About 61% of the province’s population resides within the Lower Mainland; 3.05 million people live in the combined areas of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Moreover, 89.5% of the population of BC resides within a CMA.

Top 10 most populated cities in BC

Vancouver: 662,248 (+4.9% from 2016-2021)
Surrey: 568,322 (+9.7% from 2016-2021)
Burnaby: 249,125 (+7.0% from 2016-2021)
Richmond: 209,937 (+5.9% from 2016-2021)
Abbotsford: 153,524: (+8.6% from 2016-2021)
Coquitlam: 148,625 (+6.7% from 2016-2021)
Kelowna: 144,576 (+13.5% from 2016-2021)
Langley Township: 132,603 (+13.1% from 2016-2021)
Saanich: 117,735 (+3.1% from 2016-2021)
Delta: 108,455 (+6.1% from 2016-2021)

Top 10 most populated cities in Metro Vancouver

Vancouver: 662,248 (+4.9% from 2016-2021)
Surrey: 568,322 (+9.7% from 2016-2021)
Burnaby: 249,125 (+7.0% from 2016-2021)
Richmond: 209,937 (+5.9% from 2016-2021)
Coquitlam: 148,625 (+6.7% from 2016-2021)
Langley Township: 132,603 (+13.1% from 2016-2021)
Delta: 108,455 (+6.1% from 2016-2021)
Maple Ridge: 90,990 (+10.6% from 2016-2021)
North Vancouver: 88,168 (+2.9% from 2016-2021)
New Westminster: 78,916 (+11.2% from 2016-2021)

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