Kelowna has the third fastest-growing population in Canada.

According to Statistic Canada figures released today (Feb. 9), from 2016 to 2021 the population growth rate of the downtown area was 23.8 per cent. The city was third behind Halifax (1) and Montreal (2). The numbers also show Kelowna91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Urban Population Centre (UPC) added 29,423 people. Going from 151,957 in 2016 to 181,380 in 2021.

The Central Okanagan is the fastest-growing region in B.C., Kelowna91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), from Lake Country to Peachland, went from 194,882 in 2016 to 222,162 in 2021. That91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s an additional 27,280 people, which is a 13.9 per cent population increase. The province had four of the five fastest-growing regions in Canada, with Chilliwack, Nanaimo, and Kamloops falling in behind Kelowna.

B.C.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s overall population grew by 7.6 per cent. It increased to 5,000, 879 people in 2021, up from 4,648,055 in 2016. The province91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s population growth was beaten only by Yukon, which grew by 12.1 per cent, and Prince Edward Island, which grew by eight per cent. B.C. remains the third largest province in Canada.

Canada91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s overall population grew 5.2 per cent to 36,991,981, up from 35,151,728 in 2016.

Read More: 78% of Kelowna renters cannot move into strata home ownership

With files from Kat Slepian

gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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