Population of metropolitan area of Toronto outpaced national growth rate

New census data shows the population of the metropolitan area of Toronto outpaced the national growth rate over the last five years.

Statistics Canada released the first batch of numbers from the 2016 census on Wednesday and the population of what the government agency refers to as the census metropolitan area of Toronto increased by 6.2 per cent since the last census in 2011.

The area's growth rate was above the national growth rate of 5.0 per cent, while the population of Ontario increased by 4.6 per cent.

Census metropolitan areas do not conform to established municipal boundaries. Statistics Canada defines them as a metropolitan area with a population of at least 100,000, where the urban core of that area has at least 50,000 people.

Toronto population hits 2.7 million

When the 2016 census was taken last May 10, the population of the census metropolitan area of Toronto was 5,928,040, compared with 5,583,064 from the 2011 census. The population of the actual city of Toronto was 2,731,571, up from from 2,615,060 in 2011.

The census indicated that Toronto ranked No. 1 among the country's 35 census metropolitan areas.

Canada's population on census day was 35,151,728, Statistics Canada reported.

The national census is conducted every five years. The information published Wednesday is the first of several releases of data to come from Statistics Canada over the next year.