Saskatchewan and Manitoba emerged as the country's growth leaders in population numbers released by Statistics Canada Thursday.

The agency estimated that Canada's population grew by 1.1 per cent in 2010 to total 34,278,400 as of January 1, 2011.

Population, as of January 1. 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador 509,100 Prince Edward Island 143,500 Nova Scotia 943,400 New Brunswick 753,200 Quebec 7,943,000 Ontario 13,282,400 Manitoba 1,243,700 Saskatchewan 1,052,100 Alberta 3,742,800 British Columbia 4,554,100 Yukon 34,300 Northwest Territories 43,600 Nunavut 33,300 Canada 34,278,400 (Source: Statistics Canada)

But Saskatchewan's rose by 1.5 per cent and Manitoba's increased 1.4 per cent, helped by strong economic growth prospects.

Movement from other provinces helped Saskatchewan while immigration was a strong factor in Manitoba's growth.

The growth of 40,400 from October 1, 2010 was lower than in the same period in 2009, when the number of Canadians grew by 55,900.

While growth due to natural increase was relatively stable, net international migration declined from 25,400 to 10,900.

"This decline in net international migration can be explained by a larger decrease in non-permanent residents living in Canada," it said.

Canada received more than 280,000 immigrants in 2010, the highest level recorded since the 1950's. This was 28,500 more immigrants than in 2009.