Over the coming months, many other releases will continue to provide detailed information on Canadian communities, including the socio-demographic and ethnocultural fabrics of their populations.
The document is part of the first release of 2021 Census data. This document highlights the municipalities in Canada that grew the fastest between the 20 censuses, as well as the municipalities whose population decreased the most. One of the strengths of the Census of Population is that it provides reliable data on these topics at the community level. The population size and growth rate of municipalities are key indicators to help municipal policy makers and administrators plan the direct services and infrastructure their population needs, such as emergency services, schools, hospitals, roads, social services and parks. A fewer share of municipalities had population declines from 2016 to 2021 compared with 2011 to 2016 (18% of the total).