Edmonton ranked fifth among Canadian municipalities by population in the 2021 census.
Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision ranking placed Toronto first, Montreal second, Calgary third, Ottawa fourth, and Edmonton fifth. Edmonton recorded 1,010,899 residents, making it the fifth-largest municipality in Canada by population within its official municipal boundaries.
This ranking is about municipalities, not metropolitan areas. A municipality is the incorporated local government unit itself, while a census metropolitan area includes surrounding municipalities and suburbs. That distinction explains why rankings can differ when a question uses city-proper, metropolitan, or urban-area populations.
Edmonton is Alberta’s capital and lies along the North Saskatchewan River. It is also the cultural, educational, and governmental centre of northern Alberta. Calgary ranked ahead of it in the 2021 municipal table, while Winnipeg, Mississauga, and Vancouver followed Edmonton. Ottawa’s inclusion can also surprise readers because it is both a municipality and Canada’s national capital.