Saskatoon and Regina are the two fastest growing metropolitan areas in Canada: report

Saskatoon and Regina saw the fastest population growth out of all the major census metropolitan areas (CMA) in Canada according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The report looks at population growth from July 1, 2016 through July 1, 2017. In that time the population of the Saskatoon area grew by 2.8 per cent, and the Regina area saw 2.4 per cent growth.

The Saskatoon CMA includes the cities of Warman and Martensville, both of which saw major growth in the 2016 census.

READ MORE: Census 2016: Saskatoon third-fastest growing city in Canada

The Regina CMA includes the bedroom communities of White City and Balgonie, as well as the town of Lumsden.

The only other two areas to see more than two per cent growth were Guelph and the Ontario portion of Ottawa-Gatineau’s census area.

READ MORE: Population of metropolitan area of Regina outpaced national growth rate: census

It’s worth noting that this is the first time since 2009/2010 that Calgary nor Edmonton were not part of the top five CMAs for fastest growth. Stats Canada says the growth rate began dropping in 2013/14, the same time as the resource downturn.

The international migration rate to CMAs in the Prairies and Atlantic Canada remained stable, while it grow in all other areas. Despite this, Regina still had the highest international migration rate at 2.1 per cent. This is the Queen City’s second consecutive year topping this stat.

Saskatoon and Regina are also among the five youngest CMAs in Canada. With 87.9 per cent of the population below the age of 65 Saskatoon is the second youngest city. Regina comes in at number four with 87 per cent of the population below 65.

Kitchner-Cambridge-Waterloo if the fifth youngest area, Edmonton is number three and Calgary is the youngest CMA with 88.9 per cent of the population younger than 65.