Population growth up six per cent in the Windsor CMA

Population growth in the Windsor census metropolitan area is up six per cent according Statistics Canada.

The latest census data released Wednesday shows the population in the Windsor CMA grew to 422,630 in 2021.

The figure is an increase of 23,912 people compared to the 398,718 recorded in 2016.

The Windsor census metropolitan area - which includes Tecumseh, Amherstburg, LaSalle, Lakeshore, Leamington, Kingsville and Essex - is the 14th largest CMA in Canada.

The City of Windsor is now Canada's 23rd largest city with a population of 229,660 in 2021, a 5.7 per cent increase over the 217,188 recorded in 2016.

According to census data released by Statistics Canada on Feb. 9, 2022, the City of Windsor's population grew 5.7 per cent between 2016 and 2021 to sit at 229,660. (Photo courtesy of Statistics Canada)

Statistics Canada also says the national population almost hit 37 million last year as it grew at the fastest rate among G7 nations.

The agency says Canada's population was just over 36.9 million on census day last year, growing by 5.2 per cent between 2016 and 2021.

The five-year growth rate was double that of any peer country in the G7, and Statistics Canada says most of the growth happened prior to the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

Statistics Canada says the main reason for the slowdown in growth was border restrictions that, while meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, also slowed the pace of newcomers arriving in Canada.

The agency says population growth was at a record high before the pandemic, and then slowed to its lowest rate in a century in 2020.

Statistics Canada says there were about 1.8 million more people calling the country home in 2021 compared with 2016, with four in every five being immigrants.

With files from the Canada Press