Waterloo region's recent population surge is evident in new numbers released today by Statistics Canada.
The annual report on population estimates spotlights the census metropolitan area of Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge as one of the fastest growing regions in Canada.
Between 2021 and 2023, the region's population, which lumps the three cities of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo together in one CMA, increased from 602,303 to 665,188.
From July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023, growth in the local CMA was only matched by growth in Moncton, New Brunswick at 6 per cent, "due in large part to strong international migration."
StatsCan notes that for the first time since at least 2001/2002, the population growth resulting from the net increase in the number of non-permanent residents was higher than that from immigrants in most CMAs.
In contrast, every CMA in Ontario recorded a net loss from interprovincial migration during the 12-month period ending on July 1, 2023.
"This marked the second year in a row that all Ontario CMAs saw net losses, with 12 out of 15 seeing their largest net losses since at least 2001/2002."
From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, Alberta overtook British Columbia as the region recording the biggest gains from exchanges between provinces.
StatsCan says the population growth experienced in Canada's 41 CMAs, up 3.5 per cent from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, outpaced that of Canada as a whole at 2.9 per cent and is a sign the country continues to get more urbanized.
The proportion of Canadians living in a CMA on July 1, 2023, an estimated 29,814,146 people, represents almost three in four Canadians or 74.4 per cent.
