Population of Census Metropolitan Areas - July 1, 2012 | Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo = 505,100

[UrbanWaterloo]

Population of Census Metropolitan Areas (July 1, 2009)
February 4, 2010 | Link

Kitchener = 489,100 (11th Largest CMA)

[UrbanWaterloo]

Battle For 4th
Calgary | Ottawa-Gatineau | Edmonton
Ottawa-Gatineau has very healthy growth but just can't compete with the Alberta Boom. Calgary has taken over 4th Place; Edmonton appears on track to hit the 5th spot during the latter half of this decade.

Battle For 7th
Québec | Winnipeg | Hamilton
Less than a 1% gap separates these cities. It appears as though Winnipeg has the momentum. Despite Hamilton's proximity to Toronto it's the laggard of the group.

Battle For 10th
London | Kitchener
Not content simply being known as the city with the closest 2008 Federal Election contest; Kitchener is also part of the closest Metro Population race. A mere 200 people, or 0.04%, separate what is by far the tightest battle in Canada. With it's significantly higher growth rate, Kitchener should take the lead in 2010.

Battle For 12th
St. Catharines-Niagara | Halifax
With St. Catharines-Niagara effectively stalled look for Halifax to take the crown within 2 or 3 years. The zero growth of St. Catharines-Niagara is especially shocking given it's proximity to Toronto (the same distance as our own Kitchener CMA).

Battle For 14th
Oshawa | Victoria | Windsor
In two years the Gap between Motor City East and Motor City West has doubled. Will Windsor, the worst declining city in the country, ever shake off the Detroit Blues? Likely at some point, however by then Oshawa will have this battle locked up from Toronto's spillover.

Battle For 19th
Sherbrooke | Barrie | St. John's
Could anyone have predicted this? Canada's fastest growing metro in the 2006 census, Barrie, is the laggard of the pack.

Battle For 22nd
Kelowna | Abbotsford-Mission
The Battle of British Columbia. Which one will be that province's 3rd largest city?

Battle For 24th
Greater Sudbury | Kingston
A city of mineral wealth vs. a city of stone buildings. Brawn vs. Brain. I'll give Kingston the edge by the 2016 census, especially if High Speed Rail gets approved and funded.

Five Fastest Growing CMAs
Calgary: 3.22%
Saskatoon: 2.88%
Edmonton: 2.49%
Vancouver: 2.14 %
Kelowna: 2.06%

For reference, Kitchener was exactly in the middle of the pack at #17.

Five Slowest Growing (or Outright Declining) CMAs
Windsor: -0.57%
Thunder Bay: -0.56%
Saguenay: 0.00%
St. Catharines - Niagara: 0.05%
Greater Sudbury: 0.24%

[Spokes]

Im a little surprised we weren't higher on the list of fastest growing CMA's

[UrbanWaterloo]

I was too, it's the dominance of the West which is hurting our standing. Although I also believe when the 2011 Census comes out we'll be higher than 17/33 nationwide. Think of it like a competitor always coming in 2nd place. They may never win a specific timeset, however as long as nobody else is constantly coming in first, they might end up with a 1st place showing. It's the possibility of having a better overall standing than any specific score. During the 2006 Census we came in 7/33 for population growth. I don't expect us to repeat as highly, but I think we can still make the top third in Canada.

It's interesting to note, when you zoom in from all of Canada to just Ontario, we're one of the growth leaders in this province. If the province itself can get back on it's feet, that should hopefully help our nationwide standings again too.

Ontario CMAs

01. Toronto 1.68%
02. Ottawa-Gatineau 1.61%
03. Oshawa 1.52%
04. Kitchener 1.28%
05. Barrie 1.17%

06. Guelph 0.97%
07. Hamilton 0.91%
08. London 0.78%
09. Kingston 0.75%
10. Brantford 0.58%

11. Peterborough 0.25%
12. Greater Sudbury 0.24%
13. St. Catharine's-Niagara 0.05%
14. Thunder Bay -0.56%
15. Windsor -0.57%

[IEFBR14]

We’re now [an even bigger mouthful] the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area

It’s official. Cambridge is out from under the shadow of Kitchener when the federal government distributes data about the local population and economy.

After requests from local city and Waterloo Region council, we are now the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area – not the Kitchener Census Metropolitan Area.

An October letter from Statistics Canada to Cambridge city hall confirmed the change. Nothing has changed as far as data collected or distributed about the local economy and population, but some Cambridge politicians previously grumbled that the second-largest city in the region deserved more prominence when potential investors look up economic data.

Wellesley and Wilmot townships are not part of the CMA.

[UrbanWaterloo]

492.4
10th largest CMA in Canada!!!

[UrbanWaterloo]

Population of Census Metropolitan Areas (As Of July 1)
2006 Census Boundaries
February 3, 2011 | Link

	2008	2009	2010
	persons (thousands)
St. John's (N.L.)	187.2	189.8	192.3
Halifax (N.S.)	392.8	397.7	403.2
Moncton (N.B.)	132.6	134.9	137.3
Saint John (N.B.)	126.3	127.2	128.0
Saguenay (Que.)	151.7	151.6	152.2
Québec (Que.)	738.3	745.6	754.4
Sherbrooke (Que.)	192.4	194.9	197.3
Trois-Rivières (Que.)	144.5	145.4	146.5
Montréal (Que.)	3,765.4	3,818.7	3,859.3
Ottawa-Gatineau (Ont.-Que.)	1,200.4	1,218.5	1,239.1
Kingston (Ont.)	159.7	161.0	162.5
Peterborough (Ont.)	120.9	121.0	121.1
Oshawa (Ont.)	354.0	359.1	364.2
Toronto (Ont.)	5,535.7	5,634.5	5,741.4
Hamilton (Ont.)	729.2	734.6	740.2
St. Catharines-Niagara (Ont.)	403.3	403.8	404.4
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (Ont.)	481.7	486.9	492.4
Brantford (Ont.)	137.4	138.2	139.1
Guelph (Ont.)	135.1	136.6	138.2
London (Ont.)	485.9	489.0	492.2
Windsor (Ont.)	333.1	332.0	330.9
Barrie (Ont.)	187.6	189.2	190.9
Greater Sudbury (Ont.)	165.1	164.9	164.7
Thunder Bay (Ont.)	126.5	126.5	126.7
Winnipeg (Man.)	732.2	742.4	753.6
Regina (Sask.)	205.8	210.4	215.1
Saskatoon (Sask.)	251.0	258.0	265.3
Calgary (Alta.)	1,187.3	1,220.4	1,242.6
Edmonton (Alta.)	1,127.6	1,156.5	1,176.3
Kelowna (B.C.)	175.0	178.1	178.9
Abbotsford-Mission (B.C.)	168.9	171.9	174.3
Vancouver (B.C.)	2,279.5	2,337.2	2,391.3
Victoria (B.C.)	348.1	354.0	358.1

[UrbanWaterloo]

Population of CMAs As Of July 1, 2010 (Largest to Smallest)

CMA	Population	Growth 2009-10
1. Toronto (Ont.)	5,741,400	1.90%
2. Montréal (Que.)	3,859,300	1.06%
3. Vancouver (B.C.)	2,391,300	2.31%
4. Calgary (Alta.)	1,242,600	1.82%
5. Ottawa-Gatineau (Ont.-Que.)	1,239,100	1.69%
6. Edmonton (Alta.)	1,176,300	1.71%
7. Québec (Que.)	754,400	1.18%
8. Winnipeg (Man.)	753,600	1.51%
9. Hamilton (Ont.)	740,200	0.76%
10. Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (Ont.)	492,400	1.13%
11. London (Ont.)	492,200	0.65%
12. St. Catharines-Niagara (Ont.)	404,400	0.15%
13. Halifax (N.S.)	403,200	1.38%
14. Oshawa (Ont.)	364,200	1.42%
15. Victoria (B.C.)	358,100	1.16%
16. Windsor (Ont.)	330,900	-0.33%
17. Saskatoon (Sask.)	265,300	2.83%
18. Regina (Sask.)	215,100	2.23%
19. Sherbrooke (Que.)	197,300	1.23%
20. St. John's (N.L.)	192,300	1.32%
21. Barrie (Ont.)	190,900	0.90%
22. Kelowna (B.C.)	178,900	0.45%
23. Abbotsford-Mission (B.C.)	174,300	1.40%
24. Greater Sudbury (Ont.)	164,700	-0.12%
25. Kingston (Ont.)	162,500	0.93%
26. Saguenay (Que.)	152,200	0.40%
27. Trois-Rivières (Que.)	146,500	0.76%
28. Brantford (Ont.)	139,100	0.65%
29. Guelph (Ont.)	138,200	1.17%
30. Moncton (N.B.)	137,300	1.78%
31. Saint John (N.B.)	128,000	0.63%
32. Thunder Bay (Ont.)	126,700	0.16%
33. Peterborough (Ont.)	121,100	0.08%

[UrbanWaterloo]

Five Fastest Growing CMAs
Saskatoon: 2.83%
Vancouver: 2.31%
Regina: 2.23%
Toronto: 1.90%
Calgary: 1.82%

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo was #18. Let it be known I'm disappointed in this ranking, and feel we should be growing faster than Victoria, Quebec, Sherbrooke, St. John's, Halifax & Moncton for a 12th place finish up near the top 1/3rd.

Five Slowest Growing (or Outright Declining) CMAs
Windsor: -0.33%
Greater Sudbury: -0.12%
Peterborough: 0.08%
St. Catharines - Niagara: 0.15%
Thunder Bay: 0.16%


Largest Upswings
Growth Change From 2009-2010
Saguenay: +0.46%
Quebec: +0.19%
Ottawa-Gatineau: +0.18%
Thunder Bay: +0.16%
Halifax: +0.14%

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo was #12 (+0.05%). Our adjusted growth rate increased from 1.08% (2008-09) to 1.13% (2009-10). It's good to see we're heading back up in the right direction, but our growth rate is still too slow.

Largest Slowdowns
Growth Change From 2009-2010
Kelowna: -1.32%
Calgary: -0.97%
Edmonton: -0.85%
Victoria: -0.54%
Abbotsford-Mission: -0.38%

[Haljackey]

Population of CMAs As Of July 1, 2010 (Largest to Smallest)

CMA	Population	Growth 2009-10
10. Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (Ont.)	492,400	1.13%
11. London (Ont.)	492,200	0.65%

Gah you kicked us out of the top 10!

Kinda sad for London, but well-deserved for K-W. Who didn't see this coming? The 2011 census numbers will most likely back up this estimate.

Besides, London's metro area is a joke, unlike K-W's.

[Spokes]

Gah you kicked us out of the top 10!

Kinda sad for London, but well-deserved for K-W. Who didn't see this coming? The 2011 census numbers will most likely back up this estimate.

Besides, London's metro area is a joke, unlike K-W's.

It's going to be tough for both London and Waterloo Region to be in the top 10 as there's a HUGE gap between 9 and 10.

Between 7 and 9 though is fairly close.

[Urban_Enthusiast86]

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo was #18. Let it be known I'm disappointed in this ranking, and feel we should be growing faster than Victoria, Quebec, Sherbrooke, St. John's, Halifax & Moncton for a 12th place finish up near the top 1/3rd.

Five Slowest Growing (or Outright Declining) CMAs
Windsor: -0.33%
Greater Sudbury: -0.12%
Peterborough: 0.08%
St. Catharines - Niagara: 0.15%
Thunder Bay: 0.16%

Note how all of the slowest growing CMAs are in Ontario. I think this is the typical pattern of recessions. Ontario, with its huge manufacturing base and lack of natural resources, bears the brunt of it. It was that way for us in the early 90s, no? But we rebounded strong, and see no reason why we can't today. Even Calgary and Edmonton have gone through periods of decline/slow growth.

Besides, as you can see, K-C-W is doing a lot better than most of its other Ontario counterparts.

[BuildingScout]

Besides, London's metro area is a joke, unlike K-W's.

In fact, if one used any sensible definition of CMA for London, KWC overtook it in population about ten years ago.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Besides, as you can see, K-C-W is doing a lot better than most of its other Ontario counterparts.

Yes, we stack up much better within Ontario, although we did slip one spot from 4th to 5th over the past year as Guelph's growth picked up.

Ontario CMAs

01. Toronto 1.90%
02. Ottawa-Gatineau 1.69%
03. Oshawa 1.42%
04. Guelph 1.17%
05. Kitchener 1.13%

06. Kingston 0.93%
07. Barrie 0.90%
08. Hamilton 0.76%
09. London 0.65%
10. Brantford 0.65%

11. Thunder Bay 0.16%
12. St. Catharine's-Niagara 0.15%
13. Peterborough 0.08%
14. Greater Sudbury -0.12%
15. Windsor -0.33%

[Spokes]

Surprising the big gap between the top 5 and the middle 5 and the middle 5 and the bottom 5.

[Haljackey]

In fact, if one used any sensible definition of CMA for London, KWC overtook it in population about ten years ago.

Well K-W's metro is also kinda skewed, but it's the opposite of London's. A typical metro has a main city with a good chunk of the population surrounded by smaller ones. London's one main city with hardly anything around it. K-W has no main city.

[BuildingScout]

Well K-W's metro is also kinda skewed, but it's the opposite of London's.

London CMA includes St Thomas, a town located 25km of farmland away from its closest point in London.

[natcordev]

We’re number 10! We’re number 10!
Feb 04 2011 | Jeff Outhit | Record staff | LINK

WATERLOO REGION — Cheer this: we’re now the 10th biggest urban area in the country. Barely.

Statistics Canada estimates that after a long chase, the urban population of Waterloo Region surpassed nearby London by 141 people in 2010.

If this milestone of 492,390 people holds through the 2011 census, economic promoters say it should help us compete on the world stage.

For example, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo will show up more often on top-10 lists prepared for investors and job-seekers.

“You know, Letterman doesn’t have an 11th,” quipped Iain Klugman, chief executive of Communitech, a local technology association.

“Size really does matter when people are making location decisions,” he said. “We need more people, to fuel the opportunities that we have with our companies.”

Population estimates are for census metropolitan areas, which have at least 100,000 residents and are defined by commuting patterns. Our metropolitan area is Waterloo Region excluding the townships of Wilmot and Wellesley. London’s area includes London and seven nearby communities.

[Spokes]

It's a really good point that we'll make it on top 10 lists where we hadn't before. I hadn't thought of that. Should definitely help us. It'd be interesting to see if other experts think it'll help us grow.