Figure 2.5.2 Census metropolitan area population

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Figure 2.5.2 Census metropolitan area population — Percentage urban core

This is a comparison of the urban core population as a percentage of the census metropolitan area population. The census metropolitan area population is on the x-axis and the urban core population as a percentage of the census metropolitan area population is on the y-axis.

Percentages range from slightly more than 65% to about 95% and are relatively evenly distributed across this range for census metropolitan areas with less than 500,000 population. For the three largest census metropolitan areas (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver) and those census metropolitan areas with populations of more than 500,000, the urban core populations are between 90% and 95%, except for two which are in the range of 78% to 84%. In contrast to Figure 2.5.1 Census metropolitan area population — Percentage of central city, this figure shows the urban core accounts for a significantly larger proportion of the census metropolitan area total population than the central (largest) city alone (nationally, accounts for 90%, compared to 54% for central cities). This is most pronounced in the case of the larger census metropolitan areas.

Source: Statistics Canada, Defining and Measuring Metropolitan Areas: A Comparison between Canada and the United States, catalogue number 92F0138MWE2008002.