Canada's population rose by one per cent over the last year, with Alberta leading the provinces in growth, according to Statistics Canada.

How populations changed:
 July 1, 2006  July 1, 2007  % change
Canada 32,649,482  32,976,026 1.0
N.L. 509,940 506,275 -0.7
P.E.I. 138,027 138,627 0.4
N.S. 935,050 934,147 -0.1
N.B. 749,225 749,782  0.1
Que. 7,651,033  7,700,807  0.7
Ont. 12,705,328 12,803,861  0.8
Man. 1,178,492 1,186,679  0.7
Sask. 987,520 996,869  0.9
Alta. 3,370,600 3,473,984  3.1
B.C. 4,320,255 4,380,256  1.4
Yukon 31,211 30,989 -0.7
N.W.T. 42,401 42,637  0.6
Nunavut 30,400 31,113  2.3
(Source: Statistics Canada)

The country also recorded a slight baby boom, with more babies being born in 2006-07 than in the previous 10 years.

Between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2007, Canada gained 326,500 people, boosting the total population to 32,976,026, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

Alberta's growth rate was more than three times the national figure, with its population increasing by 3.1 per cent — its strongest figure since 1981/1982.

But Alberta's gain was mainly because of interprovincial migration, and those gains are easing off, according to Statistics Canada's report.

Other than Alberta, British Columbia and Nunavut were the only jurisdictions where the population increased faster than in the country as a whole.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Yukon all recorded declines in population.

In Quebec, population growth kept at a pace similar to that in 2005/2006.

Ontario's population increased about 0.8 per cent, the lowest rate since 1980/1981. The slower growth was the result of a decrease in immigration. The province attracted only 48.5 per cent of all immigrants to Canada in 2006/2007, compared with 59.6 per cent in 2001/2002. As well, more than 36,000 people left the province for other parts of the country, the highest outflow in recent history.

In the Atlantic region, the demographic situation was a bit better than in the past. In 2005/2006, all four Atlantic provinces recorded population declines. But in 2006/2007, only Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia incurred decreases.

Meanwhile, an estimated 352,800 babies were born in Canada during 2006/2007, the highest number since the 357,300 born in 1996/1997 and the sixth consecutive annual rise.

Increases in births were especially strong in Quebec and British Columbia.