List of largest Canadian cities by census
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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 as CY, as compared to larger census metropolitan areas (CMA) or census agglomerations (CA) around â and including â these 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
| Rank | City | Province | Population[1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 107,225 | Ranked second largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 2 | Quebec City | Quebec | 59,699 | Ranked twelfth largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 3 | Toronto | Ontario | 56,092 | Ranked largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 4 | Halifax | Nova Scotia | 29,582 | Ranked fourteenth largest municipality in 2021.[2] |
| 5 | Saint John | New Brunswick | 28,805 | Saint John was incorporated in 1785 to become Canada's first incorporated city.[3] Ranked eighty-fourth largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 6 | Hamilton | Ontario | 26,716 | Ranked tenth largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 7 | Ottawa | Ontario | 21,545 | Ranked fourth largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 8 | London | Ontario | 15,826 | Ranked fifteenth largest city in 2021.[2] |
| 9 | Portland | New Brunswick | 12,520 | Portland was a city until 1889, when it amalgamated with Saint John.[4] |
| 10 | Kingston | Ontario | 12,407 | Ranked forty-fifth largest city in 2021.[2] |
1881
| Rank | City | Province | Population[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 140,747 |
| 2 | Toronto | Ontario | 86,415 |
| 3 | Quebec City | Quebec | 62,446 |
| 4 | Halifax | Nova Scotia | 36,054 |
| 5 | Hamilton | Ontario | 35,961 |
| 6 | Ottawa | Ontario | 27,412 |
| 7 | Saint John | New Brunswick | 26,127 |
| 8 | London | Ontario | 19,746 |
| 9 | Portland | New Brunswick | 15,226 |
| 10 | Kingston | Ontario | 14,091 |
1891
Winnipeg, Manitoba, becomes the first city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting The Maritimes from three spots on the list â on both (all) of the previous censuses â to two.
| Rank | City | Province | Population[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 216,650 |
| 2 | Toronto | Ontario | 181,220 |
| 3 | Quebec City | Quebec | 63,090 |
| 4 | Hamilton | Ontario | 48,980 |
| 5 | Ottawa | Ontario | 44,154 |
| 6 | Saint John | New Brunswick | 39,179 |
| 7 | Halifax | Nova Scotia | 38,556 |
| 8 | London | Ontario | 31,977 |
| 9 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 25,642 |
| 10 | Kingston | Ontario | 19,264 |
1901
Vancouver, British Columbia, becomes the second city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting Ontario from five spots on the list â on all three previous censuses â to four.
| Rank | City | Province | Population[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 267,730 |
| 2 | Toronto | Ontario | 208,040 |
| 3 | Quebec City | Quebec | 68,840 |
| 4 | Ottawa | Ontario | 59,928 |
| 5 | Hamilton | Ontario | 52,634 |
| 6 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 42,340 |
| 7 | Halifax | Nova Scotia | 40,832 |
| 8 | Saint John | New Brunswick | 40,711 |
| 9 | London | Ontario | 37,981 |
| 10 | Vancouver | British Columbia | 26,133 |
1911
Calgary, Alberta, becomes the third city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting The Maritimes from two spots on the list â on the two most recent previous censuses â to one.
1921
Edmonton, Alberta, becomes the fourth city in Western Canada 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 cities â Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg â have remained in the Top 10 since 1921, joined briefly in 2001 (only) by Surrey, British Columbia.
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 cities on the Top 10 list â Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg â 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
| Rank | City | Province | Population[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 1,015,420 |
| 2 | Calgary | Alberta | 636,104 |
| 3 | Toronto | Ontario | 612,289 |
| 4 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 594,551 |
| 5 | Edmonton | Alberta | 573,982 |
| 6 | North York | Ontario | 556,297 |
| 7 | Scarborough | Ontario | 484,676 |
| 8 | Vancouver | British Columbia | 431,147 |
| 9 | Mississauga | Ontario | 374,005 |
| 10 | Hamilton | Ontario | 306,728 |
1991
| Rank | City | Province | Population[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 1,017,666 |
| 2 | Calgary | Alberta | 710,677 |
| 3 | Toronto | Ontario | 635,395 |
| 4 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 616,790 |
| 5 | Edmonton | Alberta | 616,741 |
| 6 | North York | Ontario | 563,270 |
| 7 | Scarborough | Ontario | 524,598 |
| 8 | Vancouver | British Columbia | 471,844 |
| 9 | Mississauga | Ontario | 463,388 |
| 10 | Hamilton | Ontario | 318,499 |
1996
| Rank | City | Province | Population[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | Quebec | 1,016,376 |
| 2 | Calgary | Alberta | 768,082 |
| 3 | Toronto | Ontario | 653,734 |
| 4 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 618,477 |
| 5 | Edmonton | Alberta | 616,306 |
| 6 | North York | Ontario | 589,653 |
| 7 | Scarborough | Ontario | 558,960 |
| 8 | Mississauga | Ontario | 544,382 |
| 9 | Vancouver | British Columbia | 514,008 |
| 10 | Laval | Quebec | 330,393 |
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 drops to second place on the list, displaced by Toronto. These two cities have maintained the same top two positions on all subsequent censuses.
| Rank | City | Province | Population[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto[b] | Ontario | 2,481,494 |
| 2 | Montreal | Quebec | 1,039,534 |
| 3 | Calgary | Alberta | 879,003 |
| 4 | Ottawa[c] | Ontario | 774,072 |
| 5 | Edmonton | Alberta | 666,104 |
| 6 | Winnipeg | Manitoba | 619,544 |
| 7 | Mississauga | Ontario | 612,000 |
| 8 | Vancouver | British Columbia | 545,671 |
| 9 | Hamilton[d] | Ontario | 490,268 |
| 10 | Surrey | British Columbia | 347,825 |
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.
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