Officially there are now more of us in the Fraser Valley.

Statistics Canada's 2011 census released on Wednesday show Abbotsford's numbers grew by 7.4 per cent in the past five years, up from 124,258 in 2006 to the current official number of 133,497.

In Mission, the population rose 5.6 per cent, from 34,505 to 36,426.

That's less than Mission Mayor Ted Adlem was expecting.

"I would've thought that we would grow more. That's a little less than 2,000. For me, it's a bit disappointing," he said Thursday.

Slow population growth means a slow growing tax base and that, coupled with the inflation rate, can put a strain on municipal budgets, he said.

"The issue is economic. If your tax base is stagnating, then you start to run into trouble. How do you pay for things? You increase people's taxes, and people don't like that," said Adlem. "Hopefully we'll see some economic growth, but I don't expect it this year."

However, Mission's growth rate is just under the national rate of 5.9 per cent, the highest among the G8 nations.

Canada's population grew by almost two million individuals in the last five years, from roughly 31.6 million to almost 33.5 million residents.

That increase is a slight increase in the growth rate noted in the previous census period, when the population grew by 5.4 per cent.

Canada's growth rate leads the G8 countries, as was the case in the previous census period, but we remain the least populous country among them.

In comparison, the United States has 309 million people as of 2010. Russia and Japan each report more than 100 million - Tokyo alone has 35 million souls, more than our entire population.

Western Canada - the prairie provinces and B.C. - now have 30.7 per cent of the nation's population, the highest proportion to date, and that's due to birth rates, immigration and interprovincial migration.

British Columbia outpaced the national rate, with a growth of seven per cent from 2006 to 2011. The province now has 4.4 million people.

The census region of metropolitan Vancouver grew 9.3 per cent to hit 2.3 million last year, making it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Vancouver is now also the most densely populated city in Canada, at 5,249 people per square kilometre.

Port Moody grew a whopping 19.9 per cent, while Surrey grew by 18.6 per cent to 468,251 people.

Chilliwack grew by 12.6 per cent to 78,000, while Hope saw a decrease of by 3.5 per cent to just under 6,000.

Numbers for the Fraser Valley Regional District show an increase of eight per cent in its communities, to 257,031.

Stats Canada attributes the national increase to a slightly higher fertility rate, while about two-thirds of the increase comes from non-permanent residents and immigrants.

Every province and most territories saw population increases, and the rate of growth was up in every province except for Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Canada now has almost twice as many people as in 1961, when the country was experiencing the tail end of the baby boom.

Today's population is also about 10 times as many people as in the 1861 census, a few years before the signing of the British North America Act that created the Canadian Confederation, when 3.2 million people were enumerated in the census.

See more at statcan.gc.ca

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But inside metropolitan Vancouver, the fastest growth was in the census areas of Port Moody, followed by Surrey, which grew by 18.6 per cent, and the Regional District Electoral Area A - including parts of the North Shore and the UBC endowment lands - which grew by 18.0 per cent.

Stats Canada attributes the national increase to a slightly higher fertility rate, while about two-thirds of on increase came from non-permanent residents and immigrants.

Every province and most territories population increases, and the rate of growth was up in every province except for Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

We now have almost twice as many people as in 1961, when Canada was experiencing a major baby boom.

It is also about 10 times as many people as in the 1861 Census, a few years before the signing of the British North America Act that created the Canadian Confederation, when 3.2 million people were enumerated in the census.

see more at

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On a larger scale, the census region of metropolitan Vancouver grew 9.3 per cent to hit 2.3 million, making it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Although these are the current official numbers, they may be a year or so behind as the census was completed in May 2011.

Mission is 36,426, an increase of 5.6 per cent, 34,505,

Land area is 225.70 sq. km.

from Census page

abb 133,497

Population in 2006 1

124,258A

2006 to 2011 population change (%)

7.4

Total private dwellings 2

abb 49,917

fvrd 110,940

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents 3

abb 46,452

101,775

Population density per square kilometre

abb pop density 355.5

20.8

Land area (square km)

abb 375.55

In the past five years, however, Hope actually shrunk by 3.5 per cent.

B.C.'s population is growing faster than the national average, with the cities of Surrey, Port Moody, Kelowna and Langford leading the way, according to the latest census data.

The 2011 census results released on Wednesday found the fastest growing census area in B.C. was Langford, which grew by 30.1 per cent, followed by Lake Country with 21.9, Port Moody with 19.9, and Kent with 19.5.

On a larger scale, the combination of census areas used to define metropolitan Vancouver grew 9.3 per cent to hit 2.3 million, making it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Vancouver is now also the most dense city in Canada, at 5249.1 people per square kilometre.

Canada's 2011 census package: results were released Wednesday. (Canadian Press)

But inside metropolitan Vancouver, the fastest growth was in the census areas of Port Moody, followed by Surrey, which grew by 18.6 per cent, and the Regional District Electoral Area A - including parts of the North Shore and the UBC endowment lands - which grew by 18.0 per cent.

The Kelowna census metropolitan area grew by 10.8 per cent, giving it the fourth highest increase in Canada for the country's 33 major metropolitan regions, behind only Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon.

On a smaller scale, the census areas of Squamish grew by 14.6 per cent since 2006, while Chilliwack grew by 11.9 per cent.

Victoria falls below national population growth average

Overall, the province of B.C. saw a population growth of 7.0 per cent, well above the national growth rate of 5.9 per cent, part of a national trend that saw Western Canada's population - where the recession had less of an impact than in Central and Eastern Canada - outpace the rest of the country.

2011 CENSUS

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However, Victoria grew only 4.4 per cent, making it and Winnipeg the only census metropolitan areas in Western Canada below the national average.

Several B.C. communities saw a population decrease since 2006, including Kitimat with -7.3 per cent growth, the Peace River area with -4.7, Esquimalt with -3.7, Hope with -3.5, Williams Lake with -1.4 per cent growth, and Prince Rupert with -2.5.

The census figures for metropolitan areas do not match established municipal boundaries though. Instead Canada is divided into more than 5,253 census areas by Statistics Canada, which are combined to create figures for the 33 census metropolitan areas.

Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area as those with a population of at least 100,000, where the urban core of that area has at least 50,000 people.

Canada leads G8 countries in growth

Canada's population on census day was 33,476,688, Statistics Canada reported.

Nationally, Yukon saw the highest increase at 11.6 per cent, followed by Alberta with 10.8, British Columbia and then Saskatchewan at 6.7 per cent. Manitoba was the only western province with a population increase below the national average, with 5.2 per cent.

The 2011 census showed Canada's population grew the fastest of the G8 countries over the last five years - ahead of the United States with 4.4 per cent, the United Kingdom with 3.5 per cent, Italy with 3.2 per cent, France with 2.8 per cent, Russia with 0.1 per cent, Japan with no change and Germany which had a population decrease of 0.8 per cent.

The national census is conducted every five years. The information published Wednesday is the first of several releases of data to come from Statistics Canada over the next year and longer that will eventually paint a detailed picture of the country, right down to the local level - including age breakdowns of the population, family makeup, languages spoken, immigration and ethnic origin, the level of education attained and income earned.