LONDON, ONT -- A new report from Statistics Canada has London tied with Ottawa for the second fastest growing census metropolitan area (CMA) in the country.

London and Ottawa both saw population growth at 2.3 per cent for 2018/2019.

That is second only to the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo region.

According to Statistics Canada the arrival of permanent and temporary immigrants played a key role in the growth.

Urban spread is also up across the country with nearly 27-million of Canada’s residents living in urban areas, or 71.7 per cent of the population.

While the population in urban areas is typically younger than rural areas, both sets are aging.

The average age in in urban areas is 40.5 years-old compared to 43.2 years-old in rural areas.

The full report can be read here.