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Canada at a Glance 2009
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Demography

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Tables

Table 1 Population of Canada, provinces and territories
Table 2 Aboriginal identity population, by age group, 2006
Table 3 Main components of population growth
Table 4 Mother tongue of Canadians
Table 5 Population of major census metropolitan areas

Charts

Chart 1 Recent immigrants to Canada, by region of origin
Chart 2 Immigrant population as a percentage of total population
Chart 3 Urban and rural population, Canada

View tables

Table 1 Population of Canada, provinces and territories
	1993	2003	2008
	number
Canada	28,684,764	31,639,670	33,311,389
Newfoundland and Labrador	579,977	518,520	507,895
Prince Edward Island	132,177	137,221	139,818
Nova Scotia	923,925	937,491	938,310
New Brunswick	748,812	749,389	747,302
Quebec	7,156,537	7,485,838	7,750,504
Ontario	10,690,038	12,242,273	12,928,996
Manitoba	1,117,618	1,163,819	1,207,959
Saskatchewan	1,006,900	996,483	1,015,985
Alberta	2,667,292	3,183,396	3,585,142
British Columbia	3,567,772	4,122,396	4,381,603
Yukon	30,337	30,963	33,144
Northwest Territories	39,820	42,561	43,283
Nunavut	23,559	29,320	31,448
Note: Population estimates as of July 1.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 051-0001.

Table 2 Aboriginal identity population, by age group, 2006
	Total	0 to 24 years	25 and older
	number
Canada	1,172,785	560,910	611,875
Newfoundland and Labrador	23,455	9,620	13,835
Prince Edward Island	1,730	875	855
Nova Scotia	24,175	10,640	13,535
New Brunswick	17,650	7,385	10,265
Quebec	108,425	45,305	63,120
Ontario	242,495	105,205	137,290
Manitoba	175,395	90,355	85,040
Saskatchewan	141,890	78,685	63,205
Alberta	188,365	94,820	93,545
British Columbia	196,075	90,065	106,010
Yukon	7,580	3,315	4,265
Northwest Territories	20,635	10,045	10,590
Nunavut	24,915	14,600	10,315
Note: Aboriginal identity refers to those persons who reported identifying with at least one Aboriginal group, that is, North American Indian, Métis or Inuit, and/or those who reported being a Treaty Indian or a Registered Indian, as defined by the Indian Act of Canada, and/or those who reported they were members of an Indian band or First Nation.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population.

Table 3 Main components of population growth
	1987/1988	1997/1998	2007/2008^p
	number
Births	370,033	345,123	364,085
Deaths	189,917	217,688	237,202
Immigration	152,211	194,459	249,603
Emigration	40,978	51,816	45,049
^p preliminary
Note: All figures cover the period from July 1 to June 30.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 051-0004.

Table 4 Mother tongue of Canadians
	1996	2001	2006
	number
Total population¹	28,528,125	29,639,030	31,241,030
Single responses	28,125,565	29,257,890	30,848,270
English	16,890,620	17,352,315	17,882,775
French	6,636,660	6,703,325	6,817,655
Chinese²	715,640	853,750	1,012,065
Italian	484,500	469,485	455,040
German	450,140	438,080	450,570
Punjabi	201,780	271,220	367,505
Spanish	212,890	245,500	345,345
Arabic	148,555	199,940	261,640
Tagalog (Philipino)	133,210	174,060	235,615
Portuguese	211,290	213,810	219,275
Polish	213,415	208,370	211,175
Aboriginal languages	186,935	187,670	210,075
Urdu	39,770	80,890	145,805
Vietnamese	106,515	122,055	141,630
Ukrainian	162,695	148,085	134,500
Persian (Farsi)	60,280	94,090	134,080
Other single responses	1,270,670	1,495,245	1,823,520
Multiple responses	402,560	381,145	392,760
Note: Refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
1. Based on 20% census sample data.
2. Includes Cantonese, Mandarin, Hakka and other Chinese languages.
Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of population.

Table 5 Population of major census metropolitan areas
	1997	2002	2007
	number
Toronto	4,481,807	5,020,447	5,509,874
Montréal	3,395,142	3,547,112	3,695,790
Vancouver	1,958,228	2,111,305	2,285,893
Ottawa–Gatineau¹	1,030,052	1,118,819	1,168,788
Calgary	871,765	1,002,030	1,139,126
Edmonton	896,690	979,907	1,081,275
Québec	686,043	701,564	728,924
Hamilton	651,288	697,891	720,426
Winnipeg	678,020	693,685	712,671
London	431,870	454,514	469,714
Notes: Some figures have been adjusted because of boundary changes. - Population estimates as of July 1, based on 2001 Census boundaries.
1. Formerly Ottawa–Hull.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 051-0034.