OTTAWA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Canada continues to be more urbanized as the population of Canada's census metropolitan areas (CMAs) rose to 27 million, accounting for 71.7 percent of the country's total population, according to Statistics Canada on Thursday.
CMAs outpaced growth in the rest of the country with 1.7 percent versus 0.6 percent.
Permanent and temporary immigration continues to drive population growth in Canada's CMAs, accounting for almost all of their growth in 2018 and 2019.
In contrast, international migration accounted for just over half of the population growth in non-CMAs of the country.
This trend is linked to higher targets for permanent immigration and to various government programs that draw many temporary workers and foreign students to the country.
In 2018/2019, the CMAs of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver continued to post steady population growth, mainly due to international migration. The three largest CMAs experienced urban spread beyond their borders.
