Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson · CC BY-SA 3.0Renter households make up 7.3% in Cantley, less than in 95% of Canadian towns
Here 15% of households are one person living alone, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 27%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 12,291 residents; the 2021 Census found 4,110 households. Across Cantley, 5.4% of residents are immigrants. Half of the town’s residents are under 40, younger than in 63% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Cantley
A bilingual town
68% of residents can hold a conversation in both English and French, more than in 97% of Canadian towns; 26% speak French only and 6% English only. English & French ↓
A town of families
Children under 15 are 21% of residents, more than in 90% of Canadian towns. Households average 2.8 people, and 6.6% are one-parent families. Ages ↓
Common-law couples
Common-law unions take in 29% of adults, more than in 92% of Canadian towns, while 42% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Above 97% of Canadian towns: 68% of residents speak English and French
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: French 81%, English 14%. As a yardstick, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, residents whose mother tongue is English are scarce here: 12%, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns.
Since 2016, Cantley has grown +7%, faster than 68% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Quebec’s towns.
Only 11% of residents are 65 or over in Cantley
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
By its share of children under 15 (21%), Cantley is above 90% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cantley, 40. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 82% of Canadian towns: 2.8 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
With one-parent families at 6.6%, Cantley is behind 76% of Canadian towns on that count.
A larger share of common-law partners than 92% of Canadian towns: 29%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up just over a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
More households in single-detached houses than 85% of Canadian towns: 88%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Newer homes outnumber old: 50% date from 2001 or later, 4.7% from before 1961. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Household income at the median: $131,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $131,000, the middle household in Cantley out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 52%. Across Quebec’s towns, half of households had more than $74,000 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 24% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Only 9.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Cantley
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
14% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The share of residents without Canadian citizenship stands at 1%.
More Indigenous residents than 71% of Canadian towns: 5.2%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 3.6% in Cantley. Set beside that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Locally, 36% of residents said they have no religion.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 62% of Canadian towns: 34%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 9.4%, against 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
70% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 70% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 12,021 to 12,564 people, the 18th youngest
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Blackfalds is the youngest of them at 31.8; Elliot Lake, at 60.4, the oldest. Closest in median age to Cantley are River Park South (40), Windsor Park (40), Woodbine Corridor (40.6) and Etobicoke West Mall (40.7).
Every nearby town is older than Cantley
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantley | 12,291 | — | 40 | 11% | 5.4% |
| Chelsea | 8,998 | 5.2 km | 43.6 | 15% | 9.3% |
| Les Rapides | 15,090 | 6.9 km | 43.4 | 17% | 14% |
| Hautes-Plaines | 6,353 | 8.7 km | 42.4 | 15% | 13% |
| La Cité | 30,930 | 9.1 km | 44.6 | 21% | 15% |
| Des Vallées | 3,575 | 10.2 km | 41.1 | 13% | 6.4% |
| Rivière-Gatineau | 14,875 | 10.4 km | 47.3 | 24% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Cantley’s residents
What is the average age in Cantley?
A median age of 40, younger than 63% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 21%, and people 65 and over 11%.
Is Cantley bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 68% are. Another 26% speak only French and 6% only English, and French is the first language of 81%.
How diverse is Cantley?
5.4% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 3.6% belong to a visible minority and 5.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Cantley?
63% are Christian and 36% have no religion; 1.2% follow another religion.
Is Cantley good for families?
Under 15: 21% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 71% of households. One-parent families: 6.6%. Schools near Cantley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cantley?
The median household in Cantley took in $131,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Cantley?
Cantley had about 12,291 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 11,449, 7% more than 2016.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).