Regina, Saskatoon still among youngest, fastest-growing cities in country

Despite a slowdown, Saskatchewan's major cities continue to rank among Canada's fastest growing municipalities.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 322,568 people living in Saskatoon and 257,337 people living in Regina as of July 1, 2018. That translates to population growths of 2.2 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.

Those numbers place Regina and Saskatoon as the sixth and eighth fastest growing cities in the country. They also had the highest population growth in the Prairies.

The numbers show a smaller population growth rate than previous years. In 2017 and 2016, Saskatoon and Regina led the country in growth percentage. The Sask. cities have now been eclipsed by Ontario municipalities like Peterborough and Kitchener.

The growth does not extend to all corners of Saskatchewan. The report noted that Estevan showed one of the steepest declines in the country last year, with a population dropof 1.8 per cent. Estevan has been hit hardby a slowdown in the oil patch and has seen population decreases for the last four years.

Saskatoon and Regina also rank as two of the youngest cities in the country. Only 12.7 per cent of the two cities' population is over the age of 65.

Growth in the two cities seems to be mainly spurred on by immigration, with Regina showing the highest international migration rate in Canada.

Despite growing populations in smaller cities, one-third of the country's population continues to live in Canada's three largest cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.