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Canada: cities by population

By James Burfield, SEO consultant, Bath · Page updated · UN World Population Prospects

Canada has a population of 40,467,728 (UN estimate, 2026), with Ottawa as its capital. The 50 largest of its 1,936 recorded towns and cities, ranked.

+31%
since 2000 (30,891,803)
+13%
projected by 2050 (45,621,882)
4
people per km²
19501975200020252050 13.7M 45.6M
UN estimates to 2026; the dashed line is the medium-variant projection to 2050, a forecast rather than a measurement. Source: World Population Prospects 2024.
Full UN series, 1950 to 2050
YearPopulation
195013,741,747
197523,148,986
200030,891,803
200532,440,173
201034,196,899
201535,962,234
202038,171,902
202540,126,723
202640,467,728
2030 projected41,655,589
2050 projected45,621,882

Medium variant. Figures from 2026 onward are projections, not measurements.

Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.

Largest cities in Canada

#PlaceRegionPopulation
1TorontoOntario2,794,356
2MontréalQuebec1,762,949
3CalgaryAlberta1,306,784
4OttawaOntario1,017,449
5EdmontonAlberta1,010,899
6WinnipegManitoba749,607
7MississaugaOntario717,961
8VancouverBritish Columbia662,248
9BramptonOntario656,480
10HamiltonOntario569,353
11SurreyBritish Columbia568,322
12QuébecQuebec531,902
13HalifaxNova Scotia471,559
14LavalQuebec438,366
15LondonOntario422,324
16EtobicokeOntario365,000
17MarkhamOntario338,503
18VaughanOntario323,103
19GatineauQuebec300,045
20VictoriaBritish Columbia289,625
21SaskatoonSaskatchewan266,141
22KitchenerOntario256,885
23BurnabyBritish Columbia249,125
24WindsorOntario229,660
25LongueuilQuebec229,330
26ReginaSaskatchewan226,404
27OakvilleOntario213,759
28RichmondBritish Columbia209,937
29Richmond HillOntario202,022
30BurlingtonOntario186,948
31NepeanOntario180,000
32OshawaOntario175,383
33Greater SudburyOntario166,004
34GloucesterOntario150,012
35SaguenayQuebec148,886
36CoquitlamBritish Columbia148,625
37BarrieOntario147,829
38Rosemont–La Petite-PatrieQuebec146,501
39Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-ExtensionQuebec144,814
40KelownaBritish Columbia144,576
41Trois-RivièresQuebec144,472
42GuelphOntario143,740
43LévisQuebec143,414
44Mercier–Hochelaga-MaisonneuveQuebec142,753
45AbbotsfordBritish Columbia141,397
46WhitbyOntario138,501
47St. CatharinesOntario136,803
48MiltonOntario132,979
49LangleyBritish Columbia132,603
50KingstonOntario132,485

Twenty years earlier: Canada in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 32,050,369.

Common questions

What is the population of Canada?
Canada has a population of 40,467,728, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 45,621,882 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Canada?
Ottawa. The largest place we record there is Toronto, with 2,794,356 people.

Go deeper

Toronto
The largest place we record in Canada: 2,794,356 people
Canada in 2005
The World Gazetteer's archive edition: 32,050,369 then
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