List of largest Canadian cities by census

This is a list of the largest cities in Canada by census starting with the 1871 census of Canada, the first national census. Only communities that were incorporated as cities or census agglomerations at the time of each census are presented. Therefore, this list does not include any incorporated towns that may have been larger than any incorporated cities at each census.

1891

Winnipeg, Manitoba, becomes the first city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting The Maritimes from three spots on the list – on both of the previous censuses – to two.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	216,650
2	Toronto	Ontario	181,220
3	Quebec City	Quebec	63,090
4	Hamilton	Ontario	48,980
5	Ottawa	Ontario	44,154
6	Saint John	New Brunswick	39,179
7	Halifax	Nova Scotia	38,556
8	London	Ontario	31,977
9	Winnipeg	Manitoba	25,642
10	Kingston	Ontario	19,264

1901

Vancouver, British Columbia, becomes the second city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting Ontario from five spots on the list – on all three previous censuses – to four.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	267,730
2	Toronto	Ontario	208,040
3	Quebec City	Quebec	68,840
4	Ottawa	Ontario	59,928
5	Hamilton	Ontario	52,634
6	Winnipeg	Manitoba	42,340
7	Halifax	Nova Scotia	40,832
8	Saint John	New Brunswick	40,711
9	London	Ontario	37,981
10	Vancouver	British Columbia	26,133

1911

Calgary, Alberta, becomes the third city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, cutting The Maritimes from two spots on the list – on the two most recent previous censuses – to one.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	470,480
2	Toronto	Ontario	378,538
3	Winnipeg	Manitoba	136,035
4	Vancouver	British Columbia	100,401
5	Ottawa	Ontario	87,701
6	Hamilton	Ontario	81,969
7	Quebec City	Quebec	78,710
8	Halifax	Nova Scotia	46,619
9	London	Ontario	46,300
10	Calgary	Alberta	43,704

1921

Edmonton, Alberta, becomes the fourth city in Western Canada to appear on the Top 10 list, removing all cities in The Maritimes from the list for the first time as of this sixth national census; The Maritimes have never again placed a city in the Top 10 list. Western Canada's four most populous cities – Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg – have remained in the Top 10 since 1921, joined briefly in 2001 by Surrey, British Columbia.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	618,506
2	Toronto	Ontario	521,893
3	Winnipeg	Manitoba	179,087
4	Vancouver	British Columbia	163,220
5	Hamilton	Ontario	114,151
6	Ottawa	Ontario	107,843
7	Quebec City	Quebec	95,193
8	Calgary	Alberta	63,305
9	London	Ontario	60,959
10	Edmonton	Alberta	58,821

1951

Montreal becomes the first city to hit over 1 million in population.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	1,021,520
2	Toronto	Ontario	675,754
3	Vancouver	British Columbia	344,843
4	Winnipeg	Manitoba	235,710
5	Hamilton	Ontario	208,321
6	Ottawa	Ontario	202,045
7	Quebec City	Quebec	164,016
8	Edmonton	Alberta	159,631
9	Calgary	Alberta	129,060
10	Windsor	Ontario	120,040

1971

1981

After holding two spots on the Top 10 list in all 14 previous censuses, Quebec is reduced to one city on the list. It will briefly return to two positions, in 1996 and 2006.
Through the 1970s, while a number of Canadian cities suffered population losses, the three Canadian Prairies cities on the Top 10 list – Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg – saw significant growth: the two Alberta cities primarily through consistent net migration, with Winnipeg primarily boosted by amalgamation of its surrounding municipalities prior to the 1976 census.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Montreal	Quebec	980,354
2	Toronto	Ontario	599,217
3	Calgary	Alberta	592,743
4	Winnipeg	Manitoba	564,473
5	North York	Ontario	559,521
6	Edmonton	Alberta	532,246
7	Vancouver	British Columbia	414,281
8	Mississauga	Ontario	315,056
9	Hamilton	Ontario	306,434
10	Ottawa	Ontario	295,033

2001

Numerous amalgamations took place in Ontario during the 1990s and 2000s that affected city population figures.
A significant change is that, after holding the position of largest city in Canada on all 19 previous censuses, covering the first 129 years of the nation of Canada, Montreal drops to second place on the list, displaced by Toronto. These two cities have maintained the same top two positions on all subsequent censuses.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,481,494
2	Montreal	Quebec	1,039,534
3	Calgary	Alberta	879,003
4	Ottawa	Ontario	774,072
5	Edmonton	Alberta	666,104
6	Winnipeg	Manitoba	619,544
7	Mississauga	Ontario	612,000
8	Vancouver	British Columbia	545,671
9	Hamilton	Ontario	490,268
10	Surrey	British Columbia	347,825

2006

A wave of amalgamations took place in Quebec since the previous census, affecting city population figures. In particular, in 2002, both Montreal and Quebec City combined with a number of smaller surrounding cities, though some later chose to leave the amalgamations.

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,503,281
2	Montreal	Quebec	1,620,693
3	Calgary	Alberta	988,193
4	Ottawa	Ontario	812,129
5	Edmonton	Alberta	730,372
6	Mississauga	Ontario	668,549
7	Winnipeg	Manitoba	633,451
8	Vancouver	British Columbia	578,041
9	Hamilton	Ontario	504,559
10	Quebec City	Quebec	491,452

2011

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,615,060
2	Montreal	Quebec	1,649,519
3	Calgary	Alberta	1,096,833
4	Ottawa	Ontario	883,391
5	Edmonton	Alberta	821,201
6	Mississauga	Ontario	713,443
7	Winnipeg	Manitoba	663,617
8	Vancouver	British Columbia	603,502
9	Brampton	Ontario	523,911
10	Hamilton	Ontario	519,949

2016

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,731,571
2	Montreal	Quebec	1,704,694
3	Calgary	Alberta	1,239,220
4	Ottawa	Ontario	934,243
5	Edmonton	Alberta	932,546
6	Mississauga	Ontario	721,599
7	Winnipeg	Manitoba	705,244
8	Vancouver	British Columbia	631,486
9	Brampton	Ontario	593,638
10	Hamilton	Ontario	536,917

2021

Rank	City	Province	Population
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,794,356
2	Montreal	Quebec	1,762,949
3	Calgary	Alberta	1,306,784
4	Ottawa	Ontario	1,017,449
5	Edmonton	Alberta	1,010,899
6	Winnipeg	Manitoba	749,607
7	Mississauga	Ontario	717,961
8	Vancouver	British Columbia	662,248
9	Brampton	Ontario	656,480
10	Hamilton	Ontario	569,353