According to a new study from Ryerson University, Toronto is now the fastest growing city in North America. “Toronto” here refers to the city itself as well as the surrounding metropolitan area. 

The report, published by Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development compares data on growth estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics Canada. 

According to the study, last year Toronto proper saw a jump of 45,742 residents while the surrounding metropolitan area’s population increased by 127,575 people.

Toronto beat out Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington in Texas as well as a number of other major U.S. Cities. Montreal sits just a few spots down the list as the 6th fastest growing city on the continent. 

Looking at just primary municipalities we can see that Toronto tops the list followed by several other Canadian cities including Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and Edmonton.

The study’s authors cite Immigration as the primary cause for the rapid growth. Although Canadian cities are seeing considerable immigration, it’s surprising to learn that the study also indicates New York’s metropolitan area has the fastest declining population due to population moving to other parts of the country. 

Canadian cities represented 11 of the top 20 fastest growing cities last year, including Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, London, Winnipeg, Halifax, Vancouver, Kitchener and Hamilton.