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New census data released today shows Canada has the fastest population growth of any Group of Eight industrialized country. And most of that is coming from immigrants. [/p] The 2006 census data, released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, finds that newcomers made up fully two-thirds of Canada's robust increase over the last five years. Canada's native-born population, meanwhile, grew by only a fraction between 2001 and 2006. [/p] If current trends continue, Canada could get to the point where immigration will become the only source of growth. [/p] That likely won't happen until after 2030 when the peak of the baby boomers reach the end of their lifespans. [/p] Canada saw its native-born populace climb by just 400,000 people between 2001 and 2006. In contrast, there were 1.2 million immigrants who arrived during the last five years. [/p] Combined, the growth helped push the country's population to 31.6 million. [/p] The figures show an overall population growth of 5.4 per cent, up from four per cent in the previous five-year census period. Among G8 countries, only the U.S. approaches Canada's growth rate, with 5.0 per cent. [/p] Alberta and Ontario growing fastest[/p] Oil-rich Alberta saw its population jump a stunning 10.6 per cent from 2001 to 2006 -- and most of them came from fellow Canadians moving to the province for the glut of jobs and opportunities. [/p] Ontario's population increased as well, by 6.6 per cent. But of the 750,000-person increase, roughly 600,000 were immigrant newcomers. Half of the immigrants coming to Canada choose to reside in Ontario. [/p] The provinces of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland meanwhile, once again saw their populations decline, by 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. [/p] Saskatchewan has lost population in each of the last two census periods and is currently back to its 1981 enumerated total of 968,000. And Newfoundland is on a three-census slide and has seen its population fall to a level not seen since the late 1960s. [/p] Low fertility and immigration rates in the Atlantic provinces have left the region's population virtually unchanged. Atlantic Canada saw a population decrease of about 1,000 people since 2001. And fertility rates remained the lowest in the country, averaging 1.3 children per woman since 2001. [/p] Fertility rate stagnant[/p] Overall, the national fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman will have between age 15 and 49 -- remains stalled at 1.5, the same as five years earlier. [/p] The rate remains far below the 2.1 children per woman it takes to replace the dying population. [/p] While most industrialized countries have relatively low fertility rates, Canada lags far behind the U.S., which has a fertility rate of about 2.0. [/p] Canadians gave birth to more children on average than Americans in the period between the Second World War and the 1980s, with the exception of a period around the Vietnam War. [/p] But since the 80s, there has been a significant divergence, and it's not clear why. [/p] In the U.S., the large Hispanic population -- accounting for about one in seven Americans -- is pushing the national birth rate up. Hispanics have about 2.9 children per family. [/p] The closest high-fertility equivalent in Canada is First Nations peoples. But that group accounts for less than 5 per cent of the population, so the rate has little effect on the national average. [/p] Urbanization continues[/p] Not surprisingly, the census found that Canadians are choosing the suburbs over big city life, probably for the larger, affordable homes outside of the urban centres. [/p] More than two-thirds of the country's population now lives in or around 33 major urban centres. Fewer than 20 per cent of Canadians live in small towns or rural areas. [/p] "You can see the immense urbanization of our population," Anil Arora, the director general of Statistics Canada's Census Branch, told Canada AM. "Ninety per cent of the growth we saw between 2001 and 2006 happened in our 33 metropolitan areas." [/p] "What's interesting is you see the growth surrounding the metropolitan areas is double the national rate - 11 per cent growth in those areas." [/p] By far, the fastest growing municipality was Milton, Ont., about 55 kilometres west of Toronto. It posted a 71.4 per cent growth rate between 2001 and 2006.[/p] Okotoks, Alta., just 18 kilometres south of Calgary, saw its population rise 46.7 per cent. Airdrie, Alta., grew 41.8 per cent, Brampton, Ont., was up 33.3 per cent, and Saint-Lazare, Que., was up 32 per cent to round out the top five. [/p] The 2006 census was the first to allow Canadians to opt out of having their personally identifiable material become public 92 years after it's collected. Instead, many chose to keep their information from being released in 2098. [/p] Nationally, 56 per cent of respondents agreed to the release of their personally identifiable census information in 2098. [/p] The remainder either chose 'no' or gave no reply. [/p] The details revealed in a census are used by all levels of government to make policy decisions, from where to build the next hospital to where to place the next bus stop. Population counts also dictate how nearly $62 billion in federal funds are transferred to the provinces and territories. [/p] As well, average Canadians can access the data -- so that pharmacies, for example, can decide whether to stock their shelves with more diapers or arthritis remedies. [/p] More detailed information from the 2006 Census on age and sex and marital status of Canadians will be released throughout the year. [/p]
