Alberta’s two largest metro areas saw their populations balloon in 2023, rising by an estimated 159,000 people, according to new Statistics Canada data.
Calgary’s metro-area population rose from 1,586,725 in 2022 to 1,682,509 as of July 1, 2023, while Edmonton’s metro-area population spiked from 1,500,536 in 2022 to 1,563,571 in that same time span.
The population increases for Alberta’s two largest cities combined work out to a little over 5.1%, with Calgary’s population ticking up by more than 6%. Edmonton’s shot up by 4.2%.
The census metropolitan area of Calgary includes areas like Cochrane, Airdrie, Chestermere, Langdon, and Crossfield, while Edmonton holds areas like Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Beaumont, Leduc, Thorsby, St. Albert, Stony Plain, and Morinville.
Looking at where Alberta’s largest cities saw significant population growth, Edmonton welcomed more than 19,700 immigrants over the same time frame, with Calgary gaining more than 28,000.
Calgary led the country in net interprovincial migration, with a gain of 26,662 residents from other provinces, followed by Edmonton with a gain of nearly 16,100 residents.
All census agglomerations in Alberta also went from from 399,081 in 2022 to 407,802 in 2023, with no spot in Alberta that has data from Stat Canada recording a decrease in population.