Canada Population by City Statistics 2026 | Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary & Facts

Canada’s Cities in 2026: A Population Map That Looks Nothing Like It Did Four Years Ago

The urban population story inside Canada in 2026 is one of the most dramatic demographic realignments in the country’s post-Confederation history. Between 2021 and 2025, Canada’s total urban population grew from 32.1 million to 35.3 million people — an addition of 3.2 million residents across its census metropolitan areas in just four years, driven almost entirely by an immigration surge of historic proportions. And then, almost as suddenly as it began, the surge reversed. According to Statistics Canada’s Subprovincial Areas report released January 14, 2026, the combined population of Canada’s 41 Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) reached 31,169,100 people as of July 1, 2025, growing at just +1.0% from July 2024 — compared to the +3.5% the year before. The reversal did not affect every city equally. Calgary (+2.9%) and Edmonton (+3.0%) led all major CMAs in growth rate for the year ending July 1, 2025. Toronto — which had added a record 269,143 people in a single year in 2023–24 — recorded a population change of –992 people (–0.0%), making it the largest metropolitan area in the country to post an outright decline. The map of which Canadian cities are growing, and at what pace, looks fundamentally different in 2026 from what it looked like even two years prior.

What is reshaping that map is the collapse in non-permanent resident (NPR) populations driven by federal policy tightening on international students and temporary workers — combined with the continuation of a structural interprovincial migration flow that has favoured Alberta’s cities for fourteen straight quarters. The result is a sharply divergent two-speed urban Canada. On one track: Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton, Saskatoon, and Regina — mid-sized cities with young demographics, affordable housing, and strong labour markets drawing both permanent immigrants and interprovincial migrants at rates among the highest seen since at least 2001–02. On the other: Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal — the three mega-CMAs that absorbed the lion’s share of the NPR surge during the 2021–2024 boom, and are now experiencing the fastest absolute NPR outflows as permits expire and are not renewed. The following sections break down the complete current verified picture of Canada’s population by city in 2026, drawing entirely from Statistics Canada’s most recent subprovincial estimates and corroborating analysis.

Interesting Facts: Canada Population by City 2026

CANADA CITIES — POPULATION SNAPSHOT (STATISTICS CANADA JULY 1, 2025)
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Toronto CMA (largest)     ████████████████████████████████████  ~7.11 million
  Montréal CMA              ████████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  ~4.6 million
  Vancouver CMA             █████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~3.09 million
  Calgary CMA               ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.84 million
  Edmonton CMA              ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.69 million
  Ottawa–Gatineau CMA       ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.70 million
  All 41 CMAs combined      ████████████████████████████████████  31,169,100
  % of Canadians in CMAs    ████████████████████████████████████  ~74.8%
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada — “Canada’s population estimates: Subprovincial areas, 2025” (The Daily, January 14, 2026, catalogue 11-001-X); The Hub — “Calgary and Edmonton had highest growth of major Canadian cities” (January 23, 2026); Juno News — “Calgary, Edmonton lead population growth as Toronto slips” (January 16, 2026); todocanada.ca — “Top 100 Population Centres in Canada: How the Population Has Changed” (January 15, 2026)

Two facts here define the entire urban story of 2026. The first: Toronto’s –992 population change — effectively zero after years of explosive growth — is the starkest expression of what happens when a city’s growth was almost entirely dependent on non-permanent residents. The NPR machine stopped, and so did Toronto’s population counter. The second: Calgary and Edmonton’s combined interprovincial migration gain of +22,937 people in a single year (July 2024 – July 2025) represents the highest figures seen for any CMAs since at least 2001–02. These two facts are not coincidences happening simultaneously — they are directly connected. The people leaving Toronto’s orbit and Ontario more broadly are, in measurable numbers, choosing Alberta’s two major cities. The urban centre of gravity inside Canada is moving west, and the data now confirms it has been doing so consistently for at least three years.

1. Canada’s Top 10 Largest Cities by CMA Population 2026

TOP 10 CANADIAN CMAs BY POPULATION (Statistics Canada, July 1, 2025)
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  1. Toronto        ████████████████████████████████████  ~7.11M
  2. Montréal       ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~4.60M
  3. Vancouver      █████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~3.09M
  4. Ottawa–Gatineau ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.70M
  5. Calgary        ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.84M
  6. Edmonton       ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~1.69M
  7. Québec City    ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~0.98M
  8. Winnipeg       ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~0.90M
  9. Hamilton       ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~0.87M
  10. Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  ~0.64M
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Note: CMA = Census Metropolitan Area (core city + surrounding urban municipalities)

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); The Hub (January 23, 2026); todocanada.ca (January 15, 2026); uscanadainfo.com Top Cities in Canada by Population 2026; worldpopulationreview.com Canada Cities 2026

The rank ordering of Canada’s cities is stable at the top but increasingly contested in the middle. Toronto’s 7.1 million is so far ahead of second-place Montréal’s 4.6 million that the leadership position is structurally secure for decades. But the Calgary vs Ottawa–Gatineau race for fourth place has become genuinely competitive: Calgary’s 19.2% growth since 2021 has brought it to approximately 1.84 million, overtaking Ottawa–Gatineau’s 1.70 million in CMA terms. At the pace Calgary has been growing — and with 14 consecutive quarters of leading interprovincial migration gains at the provincial level — the city could claim a permanent fourth-place position before 2030. The contrast with Montréal’s +6.2% growth since 2021 illustrates how Quebec’s city has been structurally disadvantaged in the NPR competition: while Montréal’s share of new immigrants to Quebec was 83.1% five years ago, it has fallen to just 65.3% as of July 2025, as immigrants increasingly settle across the province’s smaller cities and regions.

The small and mid-sized city story is equally striking. Moncton’s +21.6% growth since 2021 — the fastest growth rate of any census metropolitan or agglomeration area in the country — reflects the Atlantic Canada renaissance driven by remote work, affordability, and interprovincial migration from expensive cities. Saskatoon (+15.3%), Oshawa (+13.8%), Barrie (+13.7%), and Halifax (+13%) all outgrew Vancouver (+11.4%) and Toronto (+7.3%) over the same four-year period. The dispersal of population growth to mid-sized cities is one of the genuine structural changes the pandemic set in motion — a trend that tighter immigration policy is reinforcing rather than reversing, since mid-sized cities’ growth has been driven more by domestic migration than by NPRs.

2. Toronto CMA — Population Deep Dive 2026

TORONTO CMA POPULATION COMPONENTS (July 2023–July 2025 COMPARISON)
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  YEAR           TOTAL GROWTH    NPR CHANGE    INTERPROV. MIG.
  Jul 23–Jul 24  +269,143 (+3.9%) +228,025    –25,740
  Jul 24–Jul 25  –992 (–0.0%)   –44,792       –12,698
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Change in NPRs drove 85% of growth in boom — and reversal
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); TheWorldData.com — Population of Toronto Canada 2025 (November 2025); worldpopulationreview.com Toronto 2026; citypopulationdata.com Toronto 2026; The Hub January 23, 2026

The –272,817 swing in NPR contribution — from +228,025 in one year to –44,792 the next — is the most dramatic single-component shift in any Canadian city’s recent demographic history. Toronto’s population growth machine was, in the boom years, essentially a non-permanent resident machine: the influx of international students at the University of Toronto, York, Ryerson/TMU, Humber, Seneca, and dozens of other institutions, combined with temporary foreign workers filling labour gaps across the GTA’s logistics, construction, and services economy, drove the record 3.9% growth of 2023–24. When federal policy tightened permit issuance and accelerated permit expirations, Toronto felt it immediately and almost completely. The city still receives +115,348 permanent immigrants per year and still generates +63,778 births — both healthy figures — but those gains were swamped by the NPR outflow, the interprovincial drain, and the ongoing movement of Torontonians to smaller Ontario cities that has been running consistently for years.

The broader golden horseshoe perspective is important for understanding what “Toronto” means at a regional scale. The 11.2 million people in the Golden Horseshoe — encompassing Hamilton, Oshawa, Brampton, Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Burlington, and dozens of other municipalities around the western end of Lake Ontario — make this one of the largest continuous urban agglomerations in North America. The redistribution of population within that agglomeration — Oshawa growing +13.8% while Toronto proper stagnates — does not represent population leaving the region so much as spreading out within it. The GTA’s economic magnetic pull has not diminished; what has changed is the radius within which that pull operates.

3. Calgary & Edmonton — Canada’s Fastest-Growing Major Cities 2026

CALGARY vs EDMONTON — POPULATION GROWTH COMPARISON (2021–2025)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  CALGARY CMA
  2021:  ~1.544M  ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
  2025:  ~1.840M  ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  +19.2% in 4 years

  EDMONTON CMA
  2021:  ~1.470M  ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
  2025:  ~1.690M  ██████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  +14.9% in 4 years

  INTERPROVINCIAL GAIN (Jul 2024–Jul 2025)
  Calgary  ████████████████████████  +11,195 (3rd consecutive year leading)
  Edmonton ████████████████████████  +11,742 (highest growth rate of all CMAs)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); The Hub January 23, 2026; Juno News January 16, 2026; uhomes.com Biggest Cities in Canada 2025; TheWorldData.com Biggest City in Canada 2025

Calgary and Edmonton’s 2021–2025 performance — growing by 19.2% and 14.9% respectively while Canada’s largest cities stagnated — represents one of the most significant geographic redistributions of urban population in modern Canadian history. To understand why, you need to look at the full stack of structural advantages both cities hold in 2026. No provincial income tax in Alberta is a meaningful financial incentive for workers earning median or above-median incomes. Average rents of $1,350–1,800 per month for a one-bedroom — compared to $2,300+ in Vancouver and $2,100+ in Toronto — make housing affordability a live conversation rather than an aspiration. The youngest major-city demographics in Canada (Edmonton’s median age of approximately 36, Calgary’s similarly young structure) mean a workforce heavily skewed toward working age, which attracts employers, which attracts more workers. And permanent immigration — not temporary NPRs — has been the leading factor of growth in both CMAs during the most recent year, making their growth more structurally durable than the NPR-dependent boom that inflated and then deflated Toronto and Vancouver.

The interprovincial migration data tells the story most precisely. In the year ending July 2025, Calgary gained +11,195 and Edmonton +11,742 people from other Canadian provinces — figures that remain “among the highest seen for any CMA since at least 2001/2002” according to Statistics Canada. These are not pandemic anomalies. They represent a genuine reorientation of where working-age Canadians want to build their lives — and the data suggests the trend is durable rather than transient. At the current pace of growth, Calgary’s CMA could approach or rival Montréal’s population by the 2050s, a prospect that would have seemed outlandish to Canadian demographers just fifteen years ago.

4. Vancouver & Montréal — Slowing But Still Growing 2026

VANCOUVER & MONTRÉAL CMA GROWTH — SHARP SLOWDOWN IN 2024–25
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  VANCOUVER CMA                      MONTRÉAL CMA
  Jul 23–Jul 24: +3.7% growth        Jul 23–Jul 24: +2.9% growth
  NPR gain 2024: +91,573             NPR gain 2024: +100,000+
  ──────────────────                 ──────────────────
  Jul 24–Jul 25: +0.2% growth        Jul 24–Jul 25: +0.5% growth
  NPR 2025: –10,098                  NPR 2025: +17,635 (still positive, lower)
  Interprov: –4,656                  Interprov: –6,114
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); The Hub January 23, 2026; TheWorldData.com Biggest City in Canada 2025; uhomes.com Biggest Cities in Canada 2025

Vancouver’s near-flat +0.2% growth in 2024–25 marks a dramatic reversal from the +3.7% of the previous year, when the city was one of the fastest-growing major metropolitan areas in North America. The mechanism is identical to Toronto’s: the NPR population that had grown by +91,573 in 2023–24 flipped to a net loss of –10,098 in 2024–25, while –4,656 interprovincial migration (the second consecutive year of net interprovincial loss after a decade of consistent gains) compounded the slowdown. Vancouver’s structural challenge going forward is twofold. Its geography — mountains to the north, US border to the south, ocean to the west — limits expansion in a way that no Prairie city faces, which is why population pressure has consistently translated into the highest real estate prices in Canada. The $2,300+/month average rent for a one-bedroom apartment downtown makes it the most expensive rental market in the country, which both attracts high-income workers and repels everyone else. Statistics Canada notes that Vancouver’s intraprovincial outmigration of –16,166 — people leaving the Vancouver CMA for smaller BC cities like Kelowna (+9.7% since 2021), Victoria, and Kamloops — is a persistent structural trend reflecting the cost of living pressure.

Montréal’s +0.5% growth is healthier than Vancouver’s, partly because its lower average rent of ~$1,750/month makes it comparatively accessible and partly because Quebec’s immigration system — the Canada–Québec Accord — gives the province more direct control over its immigration flows. The continued dispersal of Quebec immigrants away from Montréal (from 83.1% settling in the Montréal CMA five years ago to just 65.3% now) is both a policy success and a challenge: smaller Quebec cities like Québec City (share doubled from 6.7% to 14.7%), Sherbrooke, and Saguenay are growing their immigrant communities for the first time in modern history, reducing concentration risk, but Montréal’s relative weight in Canada’s urban hierarchy could continue to slip if that dispersal accelerates.

5. Canada’s Fastest-Growing Smaller Cities 2026

FASTEST-GROWING CMAs/CAs — GROWTH RATE (2021–2025)
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Moncton, NB        ████████████████████████████████  +21.6%
  Calgary, AB        ████████████████████████████░░░░  +19.2%
  Saskatoon, SK      ██████████████████████████░░░░░░  +15.3%
  Edmonton, AB       ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  +14.9%
  Oshawa, ON         ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  +13.8%
  Barrie, ON         ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  +13.7%
  Halifax, NS        ████████████████████████░░░░░░░░  +13.0%
  Regina, SK         ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  +13.1%
  Ottawa-Gatineau    █████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░  +10.4%
  Kelowna, BC        ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  +9.7%
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); The Hub January 23, 2026; todocanada.ca January 15, 2026; Juno News January 16, 2026

The Moncton story is perhaps the most remarkable of any Canadian city in the 2021–2025 window. Growing by 21.6% in four years — faster than any other CMA or census agglomeration in the country — Moncton grew from a modest Atlantic city of roughly 162,000 to 196,143 by 2025, approaching the 200,000 threshold that would significantly raise its profile as a mid-sized Canadian city. The drivers are a combination of Atlantic Canada’s affordability appeal to pandemic-era remote workers from Ontario and BC, strong interprovincial migration from expensive eastern Canadian cities, and increasing direct immigration as the federal government encouraged settlement outside Toronto and Vancouver. However, Statistics Canada notes that Moncton’s interprovincial gain fell to its lowest level in at least four years in 2024–25 (–363 net interprovincial loss), suggesting that the wave of pandemic-driven Atlantic migration is receding — and that future growth will depend more heavily on direct immigration.

The Prairie cities’ rise is grounded in something more durable than remote-work migration: permanent immigration selecting Alberta and Saskatchewan at rates dramatically higher than historical norms. For the year ending July 2025, permanent immigration was the leading factor of growth in Edmonton, Calgary, and Moncton — a distinction Statistics Canada made explicitly. Unlike NPR-driven growth (which can reverse quickly when policy changes) or interprovincial migration (which responds to economic cycles), permanent immigration creates durable residents who invest in housing, establish businesses, and build community roots. The Prairie cities’ ability to attract and retain permanent immigrants — even as Toronto and Vancouver’s shares of national immigration flows declined — may be the most consequential demographic development for Canada’s urban geography in the decade ahead.

6. Urban Canada — Key Metrics, Density & Housing Context 2026

CANADA URBAN POPULATION METRICS (July 1, 2025)
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  % in CMAs (July 2025)         ████████████████████████████  74.8%
  % in CMAs + CAs combined      ████████████████████████████  ~85%
  Urbanization rate change      ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  First year no increase (2025)
  Highest density city (Van.)   ████████████████████░░░░░░░░  5,700/km²
  Toronto density               ████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  4,428/km²
  Calgary density               ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  1,592/km²
  Edmonton density              ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  1,360/km²
  National population density   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  <4/km² (mostly empty)
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Source: Statistics Canada Subprovincial Areas 2025 (January 14, 2026); uscanadainfo.com Top Cities in Canada by Population 2026; uhomes.com Biggest Cities in Canada 2025; TheWorldData.com Biggest City in Canada 2025; todocanada.ca January 2026

The first-ever year of non-increasing urbanisation rate in 2025 is a subtle but historically significant fact in Canada’s demographic record. Since at least 2001, the share of Canadians living in Census Metropolitan Areas had grown every single year without exception — a reflection of the global megatrend of urban concentration. That the number held flat at 74.8% in 2025 is not because rural Canada suddenly became more attractive. It is because the NPR outflows happened disproportionately in urban areas, and the populations most affected — international students and temporary workers clustered in Toronto, Vancouver, and surrounding urban areas — were concentrated in CMAs. The rate may resume its historical upward trend in 2026 and beyond as permanent immigration continues flowing into cities, but the temporary pause is a statistical marker of just how much the NPR era distorted normal demographic patterns.

The housing cost context shapes every migration decision in this table. The $950/month differential between Edmonton ($1,350) and Vancouver ($2,300) for a one-bedroom apartment represents, over a year, more than $11,000 in savings — a material sum that for a young professional, a new immigrant family, or a remote worker is genuinely life-altering. This is not an abstract data point; it is the human-scale explanation for why +11,742 people chose Edmonton over every other Canadian city in interprovincial migration during the most recent year, and why Alberta’s cities are likely to remain the dominant destination for domestic migration for years to come. The density contrast between Vancouver (5,700/km²) and Calgary (1,592/km²) also tells a land-use story: Vancouver’s geographic constraints force vertical density, driving costs up; Calgary’s Prairie setting enables horizontal expansion, keeping costs comparatively down even as demand surges. Both models have limits — Vancouver hits geographic walls, Calgary hits infrastructure capacity — but in 2026, Calgary’s model still has considerably more runway.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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