Metro Vancouver population sees “record losses” in latest Census report

Metro Vancouver’s population experienced “record losses” during the previous Census year due to residents leaving for neighbouring areas. According to Statistics Canada’s The Daily report, Vancouver saw 9,926 people leave its census metropolitan area (CMA) between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. Meanwhile, Toronto lost 36,755 and Montreal lost 10,325 residents. Those two cities are the other two largest CMAs in the country, alongside Vancouver. The Vancouver CMA encompasses the city of Vancouver, as well as a number of adjacent census subdivisions. “The Vancouver CMA saw intraprovincial losses of 9,926 residents, mainly to the benefit of the neighbouring CMA of Abbotsford–Mission and the province’s non-CMAs,” according to the Statistics Canada report. “These migration losses were the most pronounced among persons aged 25 to 64 years and children under 18 years of age.” Even so, Vancouver still saw “sustained population growth,” due to a high rate of international migration. A total of 31,541 individuals migrated to Van- couver from international origins during the same period. Vancouver was the third ranked in international migration growth, behind Toronto (+113,074) and Montreal (+52,158). The international migration rate was 1.2 per cent across all Canadian CMAs in 2016/2017, the highest seen in the last 15 years. It accounts for 78 per cent of total population growth in CMAs, up from 75 per cent during the previous Census year.