Saskatchewan saw a turnaround in population growth between 2006 and 2011, according to the latest Canadian census data.
Statistics Canada says the province's population grew by 65,224 during the five-year period. That's the largest increase since the agency began collecting census data in 1956.
Saskatchewan's 6.7 per cent population increase comes after declines of 1.1 per cent in the previous two periods.
The latest census counted 1,033,381 people in the province. The only other time Saskatchewan's population surpassed the one-million mark was in 1986.
Regina's population was pegged at 193,100, an increase of 7.7 per cent from 2006. Saskatchewan's most populous city, Saskatoon, had 222,189 residents, up 9.8 per cent.
White City, which saw its population grow 70 per cent to 1,894, was the fastest-growing town in Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, Martensville, Sask. was the second-fastest growing city in Canada, with a growth rate of 55 per cent and a population of 7,716.
For the first time, the data showed that Western Canada has surpassed Eastern Canada in population.
About 30.7 per cent of Canadians lived in the west when the data was collected, just edging out the east, which had 30.6 per cent. Canada's population increased 5.9 per cent between 2006 and 2011, to 33,476,688 people.
While Canada's population rate grew faster than any other G8 nation between 2006 and 2011, it is the least populous country in the G8. The United States ranks first with 309 million people in 2010.
With files from CTV.ca News Staff
