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OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the country’s population topped 36 million this year for the first time.

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The agency estimated Canada’s population at 36,048,500 on Jan. 1, up 62,800 from on Oct. 1, 2015.

Population growth slowed slightly to 0.95 per cent in 2015 compared with 1.04 per cent in 2014.

The increase in the fourth quarter was due in part to 95,300 births compared with 67,900 deaths, based on preliminary estimates.

Net international migration was 35,400, up 600 from the same quarter in 2014.

Population growth was positive in all provinces and territories, except the Yukon.

Looking back to 2006, the country as a whole saw its population rise at a rate of roughly 11 per cent. However, most of the growth was seen in the West, with Alberta leading with a 25.5 per cent surge, or double the national growth rate over the same time period.

Canada’s youngest and least populated territory also saw a significant uptick. The population of Nunavut rose from 30,576 in the first quarter of 2006 to an estimated 37,174 in 2016, a 21.6 per cent jump.