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rfmcdonaldThe news that the population of the city of Toronto now exceeds that of Chicago--reported by the Toronto Star's Paul Moloney/u>, for instance--now making Toronto North America's fourth-largest city by population has been widely publicized.
It's also somewhat overblown, in that while municipal boundaries are often drawn so as to provide agglomerations with natural borders, municipal boundaries do not serve only that function. The Greater Toronto Area is home to 5.5 million people living on 7100 square kilometres, while Chicagoland's 9.7 million live on just over 28 thousand square kilometres. The GTA is denser, and the strong population growth is noteworthy.
It's also somewhat overblown, in that while municipal boundaries are often drawn so as to provide agglomerations with natural borders, municipal boundaries do not serve only that function. The Greater Toronto Area is home to 5.5 million people living on 7100 square kilometres, while Chicagoland's 9.7 million live on just over 28 thousand square kilometres. The GTA is denser, and the strong population growth is noteworthy.
Since Toronto was amalgamated in 1998, it has billed itself as North America’s fifth largest city after Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
But according to the latest census data from Statistics Canada, as of last July 1, Toronto’s population was 2,791,140, about 84,000 more than Chicago’s 2,707,120.
While both numbers are estimates, the gap was enough to spur Toronto economic development staffers to declare the city is “now the fourth largest municipality in North America.”
Toronto (the city proper, not the GTA) grew by 38,000 in the previous 12 months. In Chicago’s case, 12-month growth was about 11,000.
[. . .]
More people are, in fact, choosing to stay in Toronto, said the report to Tuesday’s meeting of council’s economic development committee.
Ten years ago, 75,000 more people moved out of Toronto to elsewhere in the province than moved in. By 2012, the net loss had narrowed to only 23,000 people, with fewer people moving from the city to the surrounding regions.
The city has changed its statement accompanying official announcements to note that Toronto is “home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people.” Previously, the paragraph said 2.7 million.
