Canada census shows fastest growth in the G8, immigration and people migrating west
At the national level, there was a healthy 5.9 per cent surge in population from the previous census in 2006, giving Canada the fastest growth pace of all the countries in the G8. While other countries are struggling to maintain their populations, Canada's is actually picking up speed.
Within the country's borders, however, the pace is far from uniform. Ontario is still an axis. It's by far the most populous province, with 38.4 per cent of the population. But Ontario's rate of growth continues to slow as immigrants and locals alike set their sights elsewhere. Now, the West claims a 30.7 per cent share of the total, compared to 30.6 per cent in Quebec and the Maritimes.
Every single region is gaining residents because of immigration, and parts of eastern Canada have seen a startling turnaround because of aggressive immigrant recruitment. Newfoundland and Labrador is no longer shrinking, and both Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have picked up considerable speed.
The allure of the West is not just oil prices, however. It's also trade routes, said Roger Gibbins, president of the Canada West Foundation. As the centre of the global economy has shifted from Europe and the United States to Asia, Gibbins said, Canada's Pacific trade routes from the West Coast have become more important that the Atlantic trade routes in the East.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/02/08/census-2011-main.html
