Best Communities

Fastest-growing communities in Canada 2019

These communities are seeing booming population and housing growth

Rapid population growth is often considered a negative trend, especially among long-time residents who have to put up with sudden overcrowding and environmentalists concerned about the carbon footprint of all these extra people. But fast-growing populations also mean more workers, tax revenues and spending within the community — all things any city would love to have.

While it can be difficult for communities with fast-growing populations to build the infrastructure necessary to support all these new residents as quickly as they move in, it’s obvious there are benefits as well. Explosive population growth might also simply signal a community is building lots of new housing, something that’s in short supply in Canada’s major cities.

PHOTOS: 25 best communities to live in Canada

Take Airdrie, Alta., for example, 35 minutes drive north of Calgary. It is the fastest-growing city in the country, with an annualized five-year growth rate of 5.7 per cent, thanks to thousands of new housing units added over the last nine years. Airdrie added 951 homes between 2018 and 2019, bringing its total number to 26,210, according to the city officials.

Macleans Best Communities in Canada ranks 415 cities across the country based on 10 categories: Wealth and economy, affordability, population growth, taxes, commute, crime, weather, access to health care, amenities and culture. For more information, please see the methodology page.

Here are the cities that saw the largest growth in the last five years:

Search to filter by city or province:

Rank City Province Population Annualized five-year growth rate
1 Airdrie AB 75395 5.7%
2 Milton ON 132508 5.0%
3 Chestermere AB 23360 4.6%
4 Spruce Grove AB 40484 4.5%
5 Beaumont AB 20339 4.3%
6 Bradford West Gwillimbury ON 41055 4.2%
7 Greater Vancouver BC 18851 3.9%
8 Fort Saskatchewan AB 28041 3.9%
9 Mirabel QC 56984 3.5%
10 Langford BC 39476 3.4%
11 Saint-Colomban QC 17717 3.3%
12 Leduc AB 34100 3.2%
13 Saint-Lin--Laurentides QC 23215 3.2%
14 Winkler MB 14165 3.2%
15 Steinbach MB 17797 3.2%
16 Whistler BC 13613 3.1%
17 Brampton ON 691957 3.1%
18 Whitchurch-Stouffville ON 51376 3.1%
19 Caledon ON 77337 3.1%
20 Wasaga Beach ON 23089 3.1%
21 Paradise NL 23841 3.0%
22 East Gwillimbury ON 28053 2.9%
23 Cochrane AB 30059 2.9%
24 Lloydminster SK 13369 2.8%
25 Sainte-Sophie QC 17288 2.8%
26 New Tecumseth ON 38504 2.8%
27 Squamish BC 22328 2.7%
28 Okotoks AB 32331 2.7%
29 Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac QC 19867 2.6%
30 Collingwood ON 24127 2.5%
31 Innisfil ON 40813 2.5%
32 Vaudreuil-Dorion QC 41486 2.5%
33 Saskatoon SK 283941 2.4%
34 Sylvan Lake AB 16331 2.4%
35 Regina SK 242479 2.4%
36 Severn ON 15046 2.4%
37 Sooke BC 13960 2.3%
38 King ON 27170 2.3%
39 Mercier QC 14511 2.2%
40 Langley BC 128154 2.2%
41 Edmonton AB 1035298 2.1%
42 Taché MB 12574 2.1%
43 Lake Country BC 13972 2.1%
44 Chambly QC 31012 2.1%
45 Niagara-on-the-Lake ON 18652 2.1%
46 Ajax ON 132250 2.0%
47 Saint-Amable QC 13104 2.0%
48 Canmore AB 15346 2.0%
49 Sainte-Adèle QC 14050 2.0%
50 Essa ON 22844 2.0%
51 Val-des-Monts QC 12477 2.0%
52 Bonnyville No. 87 AB 14321 2.0%
53 Calgary AB 1372193 1.9%
54 Clarington ON 101237 1.9%
55 Hanover MB 16965 1.9%
56 Rawdon QC 12080 1.9%
57 Charlottetown PEI 40621 1.9%
58 Mackenzie County AB 12918 1.9%
59 Coquitlam BC 150891 1.8%
60 Surrey BC 561574 1.8%
61 Brossard QC 92347 1.8%
62 Mascouche QC 50265 1.8%
63 North Vancouver BC 57278 1.8%
64 L'Assomption QC 23841 1.8%
65 Woolwich ON 27083 1.8%
66 Cantley QC 11469 1.8%
67 Chilliwack BC 90660 1.7%
68 Kelowna BC 136579 1.7%
69 Strathmore AB 14932 1.7%
70 Moncton NB 78142 1.7%
71 Salmon Arm BC 19153 1.7%
72 Winnipeg MB 771081 1.7%
73 Stony Plain AB 18519 1.7%
74 Saint-Constant QC 29825 1.6%
75 Maple Ridge BC 88611 1.6%
76 Guelph ON 141125 1.6%
77 Cowansville QC 14380 1.6%
78 New Westminster BC 76759 1.5%
79 Middlesex Centre ON 18621 1.5%
80 Rocky View County AB 42484 1.5%
81 Candiac QC 23018 1.5%
82 Red Deer County AB 21376 1.5%
83 Ottawa ON 1019693 1.5%
84 Wilmot ON 22017 1.5%
85 Abbotsford BC 152267 1.5%
86 Saint-Jérôme QC 78663 1.5%
87 Mission BC 41656 1.5%
88 North Grenville ON 17316 1.4%
89 Blainville QC 60530 1.4%
90 Selkirk MB 11129 1.4%
91 Oakville ON 210350 1.4%
92 Oshawa ON 173120 1.4%
93 High River AB 14889 1.4%
94 Fredericton NB 63546 1.4%
95 Lethbridge AB 99277 1.4%
96 Markham ON 356416 1.4%
97 Nanaimo BC 95688 1.4%
98 Oro-Medonte ON 22689 1.4%
99 Brandon MB 52318 1.4%
100 Halifax NS 442442 1.4%

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