Population Growth in Montreal

So, the numbers from Stats-Canada are in! How are we doing?

Turns out, growing slower than most other cities in Canada.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2007/03/13/003-Recensement-MTL.shtml

En mai 2006, Montréal comptait 1 620 693 citoyens comparativement à 1 583 590 en 2001.

That's nice, but that's a 2.3% growth (Canada as a whole grew 5.4%)

Within Montreal Metro Area which includes Montreal proper, all the snooty guys who are on the same island but didn't want to be with us and the surrounding area, the growth numbers are as follows:

Variation de population dans la région montréalaise:

# Montréal: 2,3 %
# Laval: 7,5 %
# Montréal-Est: 7,8 %
# Westmount: 3,9 %
# Montréal-Ouest: 0,2 %
# Côte-Saint-Luc: 3,8 %
# Hampstead: 0,3 %
# Mont-Royal: 1,3 %
# Dorval: 2,2 %
# Pointe-Claire: 3,0 %
# Kirkland: 0,3 %
# Beaconsfield: -0,6 %
# Baie-D'Urfé: 2,3 %
# Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue: 2,7 %
# Senneville: -0,8 %
# Dollard-Des-Ormeaux: 1,5 %

Given the above numbers, I am wondering what Andrew Boisclair meant when he uttered something like "Montreal is slowly losing people and I am going to change that" during his campaign. Seems like Montreal is NOT losing anyone, unless he has more recent stats covering only the dynamic of 2005-2006... (I doubt it)

Also, on a related topic, here are the biggest metro areas in Canada:

http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2007/03/13/001-recensement-2006.shtml

Deux nouvelles métropoles

Le Canada compte désormais six régions métropolitaines abritant plus de un million de personnes:

* Toronto: 5,1 millions
* Montréal: 3,6 millions
* Vancouver: 2,1 millions
* Ottawa-Gatineau: 1,1 million

Deux villes albertaines apparaissent sur cette liste pour la première fois. Les populations de Calgary et d'Edmonton ont profité du boom économique de l'Alberta, dont la population a augmenté de 10,6 % entre 2001 et 2006.

the south shore didn't even make the list?