Coquitlam is one of the fastest growing cities in Metro Vancouver, according to recently released Statistics Canada numbers.
The data showed that over the last five years the community grew 9.8% from 126,804 residents in 2011 to 138,284 in 2016. Coquitlam trails only Langley Township, which grew 12.6% in the same time period, and Surrey, which grew 10.6%.
Coquitlam's population growth exceeds the Metro Vancouver average of 6.5%, moving from 2.3 million residents in 2011 to 2.5 million residents in the most recent census report.
Port Coquitlam and Port Moody also saw growth, but not at the same rate as Coquitlam or the rest of Metro Vancouver.
In PoCo, the number of residents grew from 55,958 in 2011 to 58,612 in 2016, a 4.7% change, while Port Moody increased 1.6%, from 33,011 in 2011 to 33,551 in the most recent data. Anmore's population increased by 5.6% while Belcarra is one of two municipalities in the region that saw a population decrease, falling 0.2%.
Vancouver and Surrey remain the most populated cities in the area as of 2016. Vancouver grew by 4.6 per cent to 631,486 while Surrey grew by 10.6 per cent to 517,887.
Vancouver has the highest population density in all of Canada with 5,400 people per square kilometre. Vancouver, New Westminster, North Vancouver and White Rock are the densest cities in B.C.
The only city in Metro Vancouver to show negative growth was West Vancouver, which shrank by 0.5 per cent.
More to come...
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
@gmckennaTC
-with files from Katya Slepian
