What's behind the rapid population growth in regions in B.C. and the Maritimes?

According to the first findings from the 2021 census, some of Canada’s fastest-growing communities have three things in common: space, greenery and a reasonable real estate market, factors many Canadians are looking for amid the ongoing pandemic.

Canada added 1.8 million people to its population in 2021 compared with 2016, driven by immigration with four in every five being immigrants. Downtown urban areas grew by 10.9 per cent, roughly twice the rate over the previous five years.

According to the data, immigrants typically settle in urban centres, providing an explanation for the growth in metropolitan areas despite concerns of an urban exodus amid the pandemic.

But, outside of those metropolitan areas, some of the fastest growing regions in the country include small, more rural communities in B.C. and seaside Maritime cities like Halifax—where space, greenery and good work-life balance are driving migration among Canadians.

“We’re seeing small cities, including small cities outside the orbit of large metropolitan areas showing some robust growth,” Tom Urbaniak, political science professor at Cape Breton University, told CTV National News.