The latest figures also show that the once yawning gulf in growth rates between the spreading suburbs and their urban centres has continued to narrow, with young professionals and aging baby boomers alike opting for the downtown-condominium life. Wednesday's release focused on population and dwellings the next one, in May, will be focused on age and sex. The three biggest metropolitan areas in the country - Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver - are now home to more than one-third of all Canadians with a combined population of 12.5 million, with almost one half living in Toronto and its suburban neighbours, the data shows.Ĭanada is once again the fastest growing country in the G7, Statistics Canada says in the first of what will be seven tranches of 2016 census data to be released over the course of the year. Grenier: Canada's population tops 35 million as West surges.Nor is the city's middle-aged spread at all unique, according to the 2016 census data released Wednesday: Canada's population of 35.15 million is settling in the bigger cities, ensuring they and their suburban neighbours keep growing, while small cities get smaller. interior, testing his ability to provide core municipal services and build badly needed infrastructure. In some ways a victim of his own success, the mayor of Kelowna has been struggling in recent years to rein in his city as it slowly spreads across the B.C.