Canada's Best Places to Live: Top 100 Fastest Growing Cities 2017

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[bc_video video_id=”6023947298001″ account_id=”6015698167001″ player_id=”lYro6suIR”] It is possible to have too much of a good thing? You wouldn’t think population growth would ever be counted as one of those problems, but when you grow as fast as Airdrie, Alta. there have been a few strains.

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Cities don’t cope well when their population surges. Grow too much, too fast and city infrastructures start to buckle. Airdrie, the fastest growing city in Canada is feeling some of the pressure. The population in this manufacturing town, just 20 due north of Calgary, has jumped by 20% in five years. That’s an annual growth rate of almost 4%. The rapid growth occasionally sparks the ire of residents. An angry letter to the editor of the Airdrie Echo outlines how this unchecked growth is affecting the city. The list of issues is endless: No hospitals, not enough highway exits, crowded schools, no transit and congested roads. “Who is in charge of this uncontrolled crazy expansion?” begged the Airdrie resident.

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Still, people don’t flock to a place without a reason. Growth signals that a city is in demand, that it is creating jobs and new opportunities for residents. Keep that in mind as you scroll through this list. In our view healthy growth in a city should be slightly above the national average. Our target is about 7.7% over five years, or about 1.1% a year.

B.C. & The Territories

Alberta

Prairies

Ontario

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Atlantic Canada

Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Annualized 5-Yr. Growth Rate
1	Airdrie	Alta.	55,877	3.8%
2	Chestermere	Alta.	19,022	3.6%
3	Beaumont	Alta.	17,092	3.4%
4	Mirabel	Que.	52,054	3.3%
5	Cochrane	Alta.	22,267	3.3%
6	Milton	Ont.	107,247	3.3%
7	Leduc County	Alta.	30,848	3.2%
8	Okotoks	Alta.	30,743	3.2%
9	Fort Saskatchewan	Alta.	24,109	3.1%
10	Spruce Grove	Alta.	32,595	3.0%
11	Hanover	Man.	17,207	3.0%
12	Sainte-Sophie	Que.	16,247	2.9%
13	Saint-Colomban	Que.	15,775	2.8%
14	Lake Country	B.C.	14,078	2.7%
15	Whitchurch-Stouffville	Ont.	45,683	2.6%
16	Sylvan Lake	Alta.	14,975	2.6%
17	Saskatoon	Sask.	268,127	2.5%
18	Rocky View County	Alta.	43,663	2.5%
19	Calgary	Alta.	1,326,819	2.5%
20	Stony Plain	Alta.	18,101	2.5%
21	Grande Prairie County No. 1	Alta.	66,952	2.4%
22	Wetaskiwin	Alta.	12,980	2.4%
23	Cold Lake	Alta.	17,383	2.4%
24	Lloydminster	Sask.	11,826	2.4%
25	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	Que.	20,447	2.4%
26	Paradise	NL	21,095	2.4%
27	Leduc	Alta.	15,627	2.4%
28	Edmonton	Alta.	973,755	2.3%
29	High River	Alta.	15,306	2.3%
30	Strathcona County SM	Alta.	109,680	2.3%
31	Prévost	Que.	14,120	2.3%
32	Lacombe	Alta.	12,193	2.3%
33	Foothills No. 31	Alta.	24,995	2.2%
34	Langford	B.C.	34,439	2.2%
35	New Tecumseth	Ont.	35,974	2.2%
36	St. Albert	Alta.	72,372	2.2%
37	Vaudreuil-Dorion	Que.	38,568	2.2%
38	Saint-Amable	Que.	12,572	2.1%
39	Mountain View County	Alta.	14,471	2.1%
40	Wasaga Beach	Ont.	20,613	2.1%
41	Regina	Sask.	226,682	2.1%
42	Red Deer County	Alta.	106,620	2.1%
43	Mascouche	Que.	48,988	2.0%
44	Lacombe County	Alta.	13,693	2.0%
45	Candiac	Que.	23,449	2.0%
46	Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac	Que.	18,174	2.0%
47	Wetaskiwin County No. 10	Alta.	14,561	2.0%
48	Taché	Man.	11,841	2.0%
49	Oakville	Ont.	211,025	1.9%
50	Sturgeon County	Alta.	22,728	1.9%
51	Cantley	Que.	11,254	1.9%
52	Winkler	Man.	12,250	1.9%
53	Kelowna	B.C.	134,397	1.9%
54	Steinbach,	Man.	15,464	1.9%
55	Dieppe	NB	26,545	1.9%
56	Parkland County	Alta.	35,263	1.9%
57	Brampton	Ont.	607,113	1.9%
58	Collingwood	Ont.	22,364	1.9%
59	Wood Buffalo	Alta.	78,008	1.8%
60	Chilliwack	B.C.	88,645	1.8%
61	Bradford West Gwillimbury	Ont.	32,630	1.8%
62	Mercier	Que.	13,467	1.8%
63	Vaughan	Ont.	330,306	1.7%
64	Strathmore	Alta.	14,107	1.7%
65	Saint-Jérôme	Que.	76,911	1.7%
66	Halton Hills	Ont.	67,094	1.7%
67	Grande Prairie	Alta.	23,327	1.7%
68	Burlington	Ont.	199,858	1.7%
69	Markham	Ont.	344,557	1.7%
70	Caledon	Ont.	67,697	1.7%
71	Ajax	Ont.	124,489	1.6%
72	West Kelowna	B.C.	34,638	1.6%
73	Squamish	B.C.	19,524	1.6%
74	Orillia	Ont.	35,103	1.6%
75	Lloydminster	Alta.	20,631	1.6%
76	East Gwillimbury	Ont.	25,592	1.6%
77	Richmond	B.C.	210,539	1.6%
78	Lethbridge County	Alta.	95,293	1.6%
79	Greater Vancouver	B.C.	14,384	1.5%
80	Innisfil	Ont.	36,270	1.5%
81	Pincourt	Que.	15,908	1.5%
82	Abbotsford	B.C.	150,015	1.5%
83	Clarington	Ont.	95,594	1.5%
84	Sooke	B.C.	12,802	1.5%
85	Mission	B.C.	40,857	1.5%
86	Surrey	B.C.	527,547	1.5%
87	King	Ont.	22,472	1.5%
88	Langley DM	B.C.	116,915	1.5%
89	Aurora	Ont.	60,096	1.5%
90	Whitehorse	YT	26,701	1.5%
91	Chambly	Que.	28,289	1.5%
92	Orangeville	Ont.	31,445	1.4%
93	Marieville	Que.	11,237	1.4%
94	Val-des-Monts	Que.	11,549	1.4%
95	Brossard	Que.	87,842	1.4%
96	Springwater	Ont.	20,630	1.4%
97	Port Moody	B.C.	36,799	1.4%
98	Mississauga	Ont.	802,272	1.4%
99	Essa	Ont.	21,001	1.4%
100	Tiny	Ont.	12,632	1.4%