35K 
A new report from Ryerson University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development (CUR) highlights the continued growth of Toronto and the surrounding region, being hailed once again as the fastest growing city across the entire United States and Canada, and now also taking the title of the fastest growing metropolitan area. The CUR report cites 2019 figures recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada on existing population and expected growth rates for cities and metropolitan areas, with the latest data showing the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA) overtaking previous title-holder, the Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington metropolitan area, as the fastest growing among the two countries.
Our CMA took on 127,575 new residents in 2019, slightly more than the 117,380 new residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington area—still the United States' fastest growing metro area. The only other Canadian CMA to register in the top ten is Montreal, the sixth fastest growing area with 65,205 new inhabitants.
Of the four largest metro areas in the U.S. and Canada, Toronto is the only one with population growth recorded during the period analyzed: the other three largest are not on the list above as they are all registering declines. The Metropolitan New York area took the largest population loss, at 60,462, while the Los Angeles and Chicago metropolitan area populations fell by 35,080 and 25,619 respectively.
Toronto and Montreal respectively top the list of fastest growing cities (proper) by population in the U.S. and Canada with increases of 45,742 and 31,565 persons. Toronto's recorded population growth during this period outpaces the combined increases of the top two fastest growing U.S. cities of Phoenix and San Antonio. Population growth in many other Canadian cities is on the rise, with cities north of the border representing over half (11) of the top 20 fastest growing cities in the two countries.
Toronto's growth is largely being fueled by immigration, with the city drawing in more immigrants than traditional multicultural beacon cities like New York. In 2019, Toronto received almost three times as much population growth from immigration as New York. One standout statistic is Toronto's population growing by 45,742, almost as much as the population decrease of 53,264 recorded in New York City: Toronto's population is growing at almost the same rate that New York's is shrinking.
You can share your thoughts in the space provided on this page.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a new way you can track projects through the planning process on a daily basis. Sign up for a free trial of our New Development Insider here.
