London Leads Ontario in Growth: Embracing Diversity for a Vibrant Future

The city of London is growing! The recently released Census data shows us that the population of the London Metropolitan Area has increased from 494,069 people in 2016 to 534,551 in 2021. This demonstrates a substantial 10% increase - the highest population increase among all Census Metropolitan Areas in Ontario.

Given that the fertility rate continues to decrease in the region, the increase in population can therefore be attributed to immigration from other countries, and other parts of Canada.

Census data from the previous Census also shows that London has become highly diverse! In fact, approximately 16% of Londoners are visible minorities. London's increasing diversity has made our city more interesting and vibrant.

As our community continues to grow, we can expect to see our levels of diversity change and grow with it! Increased levels of diversity bring many benefits to a community:

• Diverse cities are more innovative and productive

• Diversity makes cities more interesting in terms of events, businesses and cuisine

• Diversity helps attract and retain more newcomers

• Diversity helps us to learn about other cultures

With increased levels of immigration coming to the country as a whole, and a desire among many immigrants to settle in the GTA, London must work to ensure that it is an attractive place for immigrants to settle.

The growth patterns for London show that it will continue to be an up and coming destination for newcomers looking to settle further from the GTA. Because of this, London must continue its work to be a welcoming community. In order to enjoy the benefits of a growing population and growing levels of diversity, we must all commit to making London a place where diverse groups feel welcome, and therefore want to live!