List of largest Canadian cities by census

A collection of four maps showing the distribution of population for 1851 (Newfoundland 1857), 1871 (Newfoundland 1869), 1901 and 1921 by historical region.

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 at the time of each census are presented. Therefore, this list does not include any incorporated towns that may have been larger than any incorporated cities at each census.

1871

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	107,225	Montreal ranked as the most populous city in Canada at the time of the first national census, and would remain so until 2001, when the amalgamation of Toronto led it to claim the title. Ranked #2 in 2011.
2	Quebec, Quebec	59,699	As one of Canada’s oldest cities, Quebec would remain amongst its 10 largest cities until 1971, and would reappear in 2006 after amalgamation with the surrounding area. Ranked #11 in 2011.
3	Toronto, Ontario	56,092	Ranked #1 in 2011.
4	Halifax, Nova Scotia	29,582	The highest ranking that Halifax would attain. Ranked #14 in 2011.
5	Saint John, New Brunswick	28,805	Saint John is Canada’s oldest incorporated city, founded in 1785. Ranked #78 in 2011.
6	Hamilton, Ontario	26,716	Although it has flirted with the bottom of the top 10, it has never ranked outside of it. Ranked #10 in 2011.
7	Ottawa, Ontario	21,545	Ranked #4 in 2011.
8	London, Ontario	15,826	Would remain amongst the top 10 largest cities until the 1981 census. Ranked #15 in 2011.
9	Portland, New Brunswick	12,520
10	Kingston, Ontario	12,407	Ranked #40 in 2011.

1881

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	140,747
2	Toronto, Ontario	86,415	Toronto assumed the #2 position that it would hold until 1991, when it was surpassed by Calgary.
3	Quebec, Quebec	62,446
4	Halifax, Nova Scotia	36,100
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	Would merge with Saint John, New Brunswick, before the next census.
10	Kingston, Ontario	14,091

1891

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	219,650
2	Toronto, Ontario	181,220	In terms of percentage, this would be the closest that Toronto would come to approaching Montreal’s population until 2001, when it overtook the city thanks to amalgamation.
3	Quebec, Quebec	63,090
4	Hamilton, Ontario	48,980	This was Hamilton’s highest ranking.
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	The first time that a city west of Ontario would appear on this list. Winnipeg has never ranked outside of the top 10 since that time.
10	Kingston, Ontario	19,264	This is the last time that Kingston would appear on this list.

1901

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	267,730
2	Toronto, Ontario	208,040
3	Quebec, Quebec	68,840
4	Ottawa, Ontario	59,928	This would be Ottawa’s high ranking until it was amalgamated with surrounding municipalities in 2001.
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	Vancouver’s first appearance on this list

1911

Source: Canada Year Book 1932

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	490,504
2	Toronto, Ontario	381,383
3	Winnipeg, Manitoba	136,035	Winnipeg’s highest ranking on this list, which it would hold until 1921.
4	Vancouver, British Columbia	120,847
5	Ottawa, Ontario	87,082
6	Hamilton, Ontario	81,960
7	Quebec, Quebec	78,710	This would be Quebec’s first fall from the #3 position.
8	Halifax, Nova Scotia	46,619	Halifax’s last appearance in the top 10 until 2001. Would rank 11th in 1921.
9	London, Ontario	46,309
10	Calgary, Alberta	43,704	Calgary’s first appearance on this list.

1921

Cities west of Ontario take up four of the top ten spots in this census. Many Western cities will grow quickly during the 20th century, in large part, because they are able to expand their borders. Source: Canada Year Book 1932

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	618,506
2	Toronto, Ontario	521,893
3	Winnipeg, Manitoba	179,087
4	Vancouver, British Columbia	162,229
5	Hamilton, Ontario	114,151
6	Ottawa, Ontario	107,843
7	Quebec, Quebec	95,193
8	Calgary, Alberta	63,305
9	London, Ontario	60,959
10	Edmonton, Alberta	58,821	Edmonton’s first appearance on this list. It edged out Halifax by 500 residents in this census.

1931

Source: Canada Year Book 1932

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	818,517
2	Toronto, Ontario	631,207
3	Vancouver, British Columbia	246,593	Vancouver’s highest ranking on this list, which it would hold until 1941.
4	Winnipeg, Manitoba	218,785
5	Hamilton, Ontario	155,547
6	Quebec, Quebec	130,594
7	Ottawa, Ontario	126,872
8	Calgary, Alberta	83,761
9	Edmonton, Alberta	79,197
10	London, Ontario	71,148	London would not reappear on this list until 1961.

1941

Source: Canada Year Book 1955

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	903,007
2	Toronto, Ontario	667,567
3	Vancouver, British Columbia	275,353
4	Winnipeg, Manitoba	221,960
5	Hamilton, Ontario	166,337
6	Ottawa, Ontario	154,951
7	Quebec, Quebec	150,757
8	Windsor, Ontario	105,311	Windsor’s highest ranking on this list.
9	Edmonton, Alberta	93,817
10	Calgary, Alberta	88,904	This is the only time until 2001 that Calgary’s position on this list would fall.

1951

Source: Canada Year Book 1955

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	1,021,520	The first Canadian city to cross 1 million residents.
2	Toronto, Ontario	675,754
3	Vancouver, British Columbia	344,843
4	Winnipeg, Manitoba	235,710
5	Hamilton, Ontario	208,321
6	Ottawa, Ontario	202,045
7	Quebec, Quebec	164,016
8	Edmonton, Alberta	159,631
9	Calgary, Alberta	129,060
10	Windsor, Ontario	120,040	Windsor’s last appearance on this list. It would rank 12th in 1961.

1961

Source: Canada Year Book 1967

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	1,191,062
2	Toronto, Ontario	672,407	The first time that Toronto’s population would fall.
3	Vancouver, British Columbia	384,522
4	Edmonton, Alberta	281,022
5	Hamilton, Ontario	273,991
6	Ottawa, Ontario	268,206
7	Winnipeg, Manitoba	265,429
8	Calgary, Alberta	249,631
9	Quebec, Quebec	171,979	Quebec’s last appearance on this list, until 2006.
10	London, Ontario	169,569	London reappears amongst the top 10.

1971

Source: Canada Year Book 1972

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	1,214,351	Montreal’s peak population until amalgamation expanded city boundaries in 2002.
2	Toronto, Ontario	712,786	Toronto’s peak population until amalgamation expanded city borders in 2001.
3	Edmonton, Alberta	438,152	Edmonton’s highest ranking amongst the top 10.
4	Vancouver, British Columbia	426,256
5	Calgary, Alberta	403,319
6	Hamilton, Ontario	309,173
7	Ottawa, Ontario	302,241
8	Winnipeg, Manitoba	246,246	Winnipeg experiences its first loss of population.
9	Laval, Quebec	228,010	The first suburb to appear amongst the top 10. Laval was created out of several municipalities in 1965. This would be Laval’s only appearance in the top 10.
10	London, Ontario	223,222	London’s last appearance in the top 10.

1981

A number of Canadian cities suffered population losses during the 1970s. Source: Canada Year Book 1988

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	980,354	Montreal’s first loss of population.
2	Toronto, Ontario	599,217
3	Calgary, Alberta	592,743
4	Winnipeg, Manitoba	564,473	Winnipeg ‘s sharp jump in population is attributable to the amalgamation of several surrounding municipalities.
5	North York, Ontario	559,521	The first suburb of Toronto to appear amongst the top 10. It did not appear previously because it had only been incorporated as a city in 1979. Had it been a city, it would have ranked #3 in 1971.
6	Edmonton, Alberta	532,246
7	Vancouver, British Columbia	414,281
8	Mississauga, Ontario	315,056	Mississauga’s first appearance in the top 10.
9	Hamilton, Ontario	306,434	Hamilton’s first loss of population
10	Ottawa, Ontario	295,033	Ottawa’s first loss of population. Ottawa would rank 12th in 1991.

1991

Source : Statistics Canada Community Profiles: Census 1991

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Montreal, Quebec	1,017,666	The last time Montreal would rank as Canada’s largest city.
2	Calgary, Alberta	710,677	This would be Calgary’s highest ranking in the top 10.
3	Toronto, Ontario	635,395
4	Winnipeg, Manitoba	616,790
5	Edmonton, Alberta	616,741
6	North York, Ontario	563,270	The last time that North York would rank as an independent city.
7	Scarborough, Ontario	524,598	The first and only time that Scarborough would rank as an independent city. It did not appear previously because it was classified as a borough until 1983.
8	Vancouver, British Columbia	471,844
9	Mississauga, Ontario	463,388
10	Hamilton, Ontario	318,499

2001

A wave of amalgamations took place during the 1990s and 2000s, bolstering city population figures. The list of cities includes Halifax (1996), Toronto (1998), Hamilton (2001), and Ottawa (2001). Source : Statistics Canada Community Profiles: Census 2001

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Toronto, Ontario	2,481,494	This first time that Toronto would rank as Canada’s largest city. In 2001, Toronto amalgamated with the surrounding municipalities of North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, East York, and York
2	Montreal, Quebec	1,039,534
3	Calgary, Alberta	879,003
4	Ottawa, Ontario	774,072	Ottawa reenters the top 10. In 2001, Ottawa was amalgamated with several surrounding municipalities.
5	Edmonton, Alberta	666,104
6	Winnipeg, Manitoba	619,544
7	Mississauga, Ontario	612,000
8	Vancouver, British Columbia	545,671
9	Hamilton, Ontario	490,268	Hamilton was amalgamated with a number of surrounding municipalities in 2001.
10	Halifax, Nova Scotia	359,111	Halifax reenters the top 10. Was amalgamated with the surrounding county in 1996.

2006

The wave of amalgamations extended into the province of Quebec: in 2002, both Montreal and Quebec City combined with a number of smaller surrounding cities, some of which later chose to leave the amalgamation. Source : Statistics Canada Community Profiles: Census 2006

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Toronto, Ontario	2,503,281
2	Montreal, Quebec	1,620,693
3	Calgary, Alberta	988,193	Had Montreal and Toronto not amalgamated with other surrounding cities, Calgary likely would have become Canada's most populous city sometime between the 2006 and 2011 censuses.
4	Ottawa, Ontario	812,129
5	Edmonton, Alberta	730,372
6	Mississauga, Ontario	668,549	Mississauga's highest ranking.
7	Winnipeg, Manitoba	633,451
8	Vancouver, British Columbia	578,041
9	Hamilton, Ontario	504,559
10	Quebec, Quebec	491,452	Quebec City briefly reenters the top 10 thanks to amalgamation with several surrounding cities.

2011

Rank	City	Population	Notes
1	Toronto	2,615,060
2	Montreal	1,649,519
3	Calgary	1,096,833
4	Ottawa	883,391
5	Edmonton	821,201
6	Mississauga	713,443
7	Winnipeg	663,617
8	Vancouver	603,502
9	Brampton	523,911	Brampton's first appearance on the list.
10	Hamilton	519,949

See also

• Census in Canada
• List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by area
• List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population
• List of the 100 largest urban areas in Canada by population
• List of Canadian provinces and territories by population
• Population of Canada by year