Rural Canada

Rural areas in Canada, often called rural Canada, generally refers to areas in Canada outside of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, according to Statistics Canada.^[1] Rural areas cover approximately 9,197,138 km² (3,551,035 sq mi) of Canada's land area as of 2015^[update].^[2]

Rural Canada is usually defined by low population density, small population size, and distance from major agglomerations.

As of the 2021 census^[update], nearly 6 million people (16% of the total Canadian population) lived in rural areas of Canada.^[3] In the 2006 census, the Canadian population living in a rural area was between 19% and 30% of the total population, depending on the definition of "rural" used.^[4]

Census

In Statistics Canada’s definition, "rural area" refers to areas in Canada outside of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.^[1]

This definition has changed over time.^[5]

See also

• List of rural municipalities in Alberta
• List of rural municipalities in Manitoba
• List of rural municipalities in Prince Edward Island
• List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan