New census data shows the population of the metropolitan area of Montreal fell below the national growth rate over the last five years, a period of time that saw the country spiral into the most serious economic tailspin since the Great Depression.

Statistics Canada released the first batch of numbers from the 2011 census on Wednesday and the population of what the government agency refers to as the census metropolitan area of Montreal increased by 5.2 per cent since the last census in 2006.

The area's growth rate was below the national growth rate of 5.9 per cent, while the population of Quebec increased by 4.7 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.

Commuting patterns and other factors are used in determining these census metropolitan areas.

Looking at metropolitan areas this way takes in to account the growing impact of suburban areas on Canada's largest cities.

When the 2011 census was taken last May 10, the population of the census metropolitan area of Montreal was 3,824,221, compared with 3,635,556 from the 2006 census.

The population of the actual city of Montreal was 1,649,519 up from 1,620,693 in 2006.

Canada's population on census day was 33,476,688, Statistics Canada reported.

The census indicated that Montreal ranked No. 2 among the country's 33 census metropolitan areas.

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 and longer that will eventually paint a detailed picture of the country, right down to the local level - including age breakdowns of the population, family makeup, languages spoken, immigration and ethnic origin, the level of education attained and income earned.

At the national level, the 2011 census showed Canada's population grew the fastest of the G8 countries over the last five years - ahead of the United States (4.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (3.5 per cent), Italy (3.2 per cent), France (2.8 per cent), Russia (0.1 per cent), Japan (no change) and Germany (which had a population decrease of 0.8 per cent).

The western provinces, where the recession had less of an impact than in central and eastern Canada, led the way in population growth.

Alberta saw the highest increase at 10.8 per cent, followed by British Columbia (7.0 per cent) and Saskatchewan (6.7 per cent).

Manitoba (5.2 per cent) was the only western province with a population increase below the national average. Other provinces below the national growth rate were Nova Scotia (0.9 per cent),Newfoundland and Labrador (1.8 per cent), New Brunswick (2.9 per cent), Prince Edward Island (3.2 per cent), Quebec (4.7 per cent) and Ontario (5.7 per cent).

Among the northern territories, the population changed by 0.0 per cent in the Northwest Territories,11.6 per cent in the Yukon and 8.3 in Nunavut.

Ontario is still the country's most populous province, with a population of 12,851,821. Quebec is second with a population just over 7.9 million.

Here is a local breakdown of census population information for communities in the Montreal region:

Community	2011	2006	% change
Montreal	1,649,519	1,620,693	1.8
Laval	401,553	368,709	8.9
Montreal-Est	3,728	3,822	-2.5
Westmount	19,931	20,494	-2.7
Montreal-Ouest	5,085	5,184	-1.9
Cote-Saint-Luc	32,321	31,395	2.9
Hampstead	7,153	6,996	2.2
Mont-Royal	19,503	18,933	3
Dorval	18,208	18,088	0.7
Pointe-Claire	30,790	30,161	2.1
Kirkland	21,253	20,491	3.7
Beaconsfield	19,505	19,194	1.6
Baie-D'Urfe	3,850	3,902	-1.3
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue	5,073	5,197	-2.4
Senneville	920	962	-4.4
Dollard-Des-Ormeaux	49,637	48,930	1.4