page_title: Suburb
section_title: Canadian suburbs
hierarchical_section_title: Suburb / Worldwide / Canadian suburbs
caption_attribution_description: English: Roundabout on 216th Street and 48th Avenue in Murrayville, Langley, BC.
context_page_description: A suburb or suburban area is a mixed-use or residential area, existing either as part of a city or urban area or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city. Suburbs might have their own political jurisdiction, especially in the United States, but this is not always the case, especially in the United Kingdom where suburbs are located within the administrative boundaries of cities. In most English-speaking countries, suburban areas are defined in contrast to central or inner-city areas, but in Australian English and South African English, suburb has become largely synonymous with what is called a "neighborhood" in other countries and the term extends to inner-city areas. In some areas, such as Australia, India, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and parts of the United States and Canada, new suburbs are routinely annexed by adjacent cities. In others, such as Morocco, France, and much of the United States and Canada, many suburbs remain separate municipalities or are governed as part of a larger local government area such as a county.
context_section_description: Canada is an urbanized nation where over 80% of the population live in urban areas (loosely defined), and roughly two-thirds live in one of Canada's 33 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) with a population of over 100,000.  However, of this metropolitan population, in 2001 nearly half lived in low-density neighborhoods, with only one in five living in a typical "urban" neighborhood. The percentage living in low-density neighborhoods varied from a high of nearly two-thirds of Calgary CMA residents (67%), to a low of about one-third of Montréal CMA residents (34%).
  Often, Canadian suburbs are less automobile-centred and public transit use is encouraged but can be notably unused. Throughout Canada, there are comprehensive plans in place to curb sprawl.
  Population and income growth in Canadian suburbs had tended to outpace growth in core urban or rural areas, but in many areas this trend has now reversed. The suburban population increased 87% between 1981 and 2001, well ahead of urban growth. The majority of recent population growth in Canada's three largest metropolitan areas (Greater Toronto, Greater Montréal, and Greater Vancouver) has occurred in non-core municipalities. This trend is also beginning to take effect in Vancouver, and to a lesser extent, Montréal. In certain cities, particularly Edmonton and Calgary, suburban growth takes place within the city boundaries as opposed to in bedroom communities. This is due to annexation and large geographic footprint within the city borders.
  Calgary is unusual among Canadian cities because it has developed as a unicity - it has annexed most of its surrounding towns and large amounts of undeveloped land around the city. As a result, most of the communities that Calgarians refer to as "suburbs" are actually inside the city limits. In the 2016 census, the City of Calgary had a population of 1,239,220, whereas the Calgary Metropolitan Area had a population of 1,392,609, indicating the vast majority of people in the Calgary CMA lived within the city limits. The perceived low population density of Calgary largely results from its many internal suburbs and the large amount of undeveloped land within the city. The city actually has a policy of densifying its new developments.
caption: A typical low-density Canadian suburban scene in Langley, British Columbia.
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