The population of Winnipeg is 749,607 people. This makes Winnipeg the sixth largest city in Canada and the largest city in the Province of Manitoba.
The wider Winnipeg Metro Area population is 834,678 – this includes the city and surrounding areas.
In total the city of Winnipeg makes up more than half of the population of Manitoba (the Province’s population is 1.3 million) and 2% of the population of Canada (36 million).
Winnipeg is located in southern Manitoba, near the Red and Assinboyne rivers. It is the capital city of Manitoba and, because of its position in the centre of Canada, is a major transport hub.
Source: Statistics Canada
Winnipeg Population Growth
After a decade of steady if unspectacular population growth, Winnipeg’s population has begun to grow slightly more quickly than the rest of Canada over the past few years. From 2011 to 2016, grew by 6.27%, slightly above the national average of 5.2%. It continued this strong growth between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, growing by a further 6.3%.
The table below lists the population of the city of Winnipeg in every census year since 1871.
| Year | Population | Percentage growth |
| 1871 | 241 | n/a |
| 1881 | 7,995 | 3,217.4% |
| 1891 | 26,529 | 231.8% |
| 1901 | 42,540 | 60.4% |
| 1911 | 136,035 | 219.8% |
| 1921 | 179,097 | 31.7% |
| 1931 | 218,785 | 22.2% |
| 1941 | 221,969 | 1.5% |
| 1951 | 235,710 | 6.2% |
| 1961 | 265,420 | 12.6% |
| 1966 | 257,005 | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 246,246 | -4.2% |
| 1976 | 560,874 | 127.8% |
| 1981 | 564,373 | 0.6% |
| 1986 | 592,551 | 5.0% |
| 1991 | 616,790 | 4.1% |
| 1996 | 618,477 | 0.3% |
| 2001 | 619,544 | 0.2% |
| 2006 | 633,451 | 2.2% |
| 2011 | 663,617 | 4.8% |
| 2016 | 705,244 | 6.3% |
| 2021 | 749,607 | 6.3% |
Note: Thirteen different cities, including Winnipeg, were merged in 1972 to create the current city of Winnipeg. This is the reason for the large increase in population between 1971 and 1976.
Winnipeg Population Density
The city of Winnipeg covers an area of 461.78 km². Based on the city’s 2016 population of 749,607, the population density of Winnipeg is 1623 people per km².
The Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is spread across 5285.46 km². Based on the CMA population of 834,678 people in 2021, the population density of the Winnipeg CMA is 158 people per km².
Winnipeg Languages
In 2011 English (72.2%) was the most commonly spoken mother tongue in Winnipeg. This was followed by Tagalog (Filipino), which is spoken by 5.3% of the population, French (3.8%), German (3.0%) and Ukrainian (1.6%).
The percentage of people in Winnipeg who are French-English bilingual was 10.3% in 2011. People aged 0-19 were 50% more likely to be bilingual than people aged over 45.
Ethnicity in Winnipeg
Winnipeg’s Aboriginal population is (in percentage terms) higher than in any other major city in Canada. In the 2011 census 11.1% of people in Winnipeg reported that their ethnicity was Aboriginal.
The Métis are the largest single aboriginal group in Winnipeg. The 41,235 Métis make up 6.3% of the Winnipeg population. There are also 29,485 people (4.6%) in Winnipeg from the First Nations.
The number of people in Winnipeg who report that their racial group is Aboriginal has grown rapidly over the past two decades, from 7.1% in 1996 to 11.1% in 2011.
The largest single ethnic group in Winnipeg is White. This group makes up 67.5% of the population of Winnipeg. This is followed by Filipino (8.7%), Métis (6.3%), First Nations (4.6%) and South Asian (3.5%).
Immigrants made up 9.6% of Winnipeg’s population in 2011 and almost half of immigrants to the city have arrived since 2006. The most common country of origin for immigrants to Winnipeg is the Philippines. There are 21,360 people in Winnipeg who were born in the Philippines.
Religion in Winnipeg
Christianity is the most common religion in Winnipeg. In 2011 63.7% of people in Winnipeg reported that they were Christian.
The only other religions which are followed by more than 1% of people in Winnipeg are Islam (1.7%), Judaism (1.6%), Sikhism (1.5%) and Hinduism (1.0%).
More than a quarter (28.7%) of people in Winnipeg reported that they were not religious.
Sources and further reading
Unless otherwise noted in the text, data in this article comes from either the City of Winnipeg Government or Statistics Canada.
