This is a list of the largest cities in Canada by census starting with the 1871 census of Canada, the first national census. Only communities that were incorporated as cities (defined by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

as CY, as compared to larger census metropolitan areas (CMA) or census agglomerations (CA) aroundand includingthese CYs) at the time of each census are presented. Therefore, this list does not include any incorporated towns (T) that may have been larger than any incorporated cities at each census.

1871

1881

1891

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, becomes the first city in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting

The Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

from three spots on the liston both (all) of the previous censusesto two.

1901

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, becomes the second city in

to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting Ontario from five spots on the liston all three previous censusesto four.

1911

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, becomes the third city in

to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting The Maritimes from two spots on the liston the two most recent previous censusesto one.

1921

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, becomes the fourth city in

to appear on the Top 10 list, removing all cities in The Maritimes from the list for the first time as of this sixth national census; The Maritimes have never again placed a city in the Top 10 list. Western Canada's four most populous citiesVancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeghave remained in the Top 10 since 1921, joined briefly in 2001 (only) by

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

1931

1941

1951

Montreal becomes the first city to hit over 1 million in population.

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

After holding two spots on the Top 10 list in all 14 previous censuses, Quebec is reduced to one city on the list. It will briefly return to two positions, in 1996 (19th census) and 2006 (20th census). Through the 1970s, while a number of Canadian cities suffered population losses, the three

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

cities on the Top 10 list

and

saw significant growth: the two Alberta cities primarily through consistent net migration, with Winnipeg primarily boosted by amalgamation of its surrounding municipalities prior to the 1976 census.

1986

1991

1996

2001

Numerous amalgamations took place in Ontario during the 1990s and 2000s that affected city population figures. A significant change is that, after holding the position of largest city in Canada on all 19 previous censuses, covering the first 129 years of the nation of Canada,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

drops to second place on the list, displaced by

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. These two cities have maintained the same top two positions on all subsequent censuses.

2006

A wave of amalgamations took place in Quebec since the previous census, affecting city population figures. In particular, in 2002, both Montreal and Quebec City combined with a number of smaller surrounding cities, though some later chose to leave the amalgamations.

2011

2016

2021

Notes

References

{{Census-ca Censuses in Canada Canada municipalities

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...