B.C. continued its growing streak last year, becoming the fastest-growing province in the country in 2010.
According to Statistics Canada, B.C.’s population had grown 1.28%, or by 57,621, to more than 4.55 million by the end of the third quarter of 2010, up from 4.49 million in January 2010. The latest increase marks the sixth consecutive quarter of population growth since the spring of 2009.
Two thirds of the population boom was due to net international immigration, with 39,000 immigrants settling down in B.C. last year. The remainder was from net migration of Canadian residents from other provinces.
Nationally, the country’s population grew by 0.9% to 34.24 million in September, up from 33.98 million in January 2010. Other provinces with significant increases included Saskatchewan (1.12%), Ontario (1.02%) and Prince Edward Island (1.42%). The only province with a net decline was Newfoundland and Labrador, with its population dropping 0.31% to 509,239 from 510,805 in January.