Winnipeg metro area population cracks 800,000 mark

The Winnipeg metropolitan area is once again the seventh-largest in Canada, as the numberpeople living in the Manitoba capital or commuting to it daily now exceeds that of the Quebec City metro area.

Statistics Canada reported Wednesday the population of the Winnipeg census metropolitan areathe city and nearby municipalities where more than half the population commutes daily for work or schoolis estimated to be 811,874 as ofJuly 1, 2016.

That's up from 794,729 on Canada Day in 2015. It also edges out Quebec City's metropolitan population, which Statistics Canada pegged at 807,211 on July 1, 2016.

• Manitoba's population grows faster than Canadian average

The population estimate is based on 2011 census counts and is adjusted to account for areas with low enumeration.

The largest census metropolitan area in Canada remains Toronto, with 6.2 million people. Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa-Gatineau round out the six largest CMAs.

There are 11 Canadian CMAs with more than 500,000 people. Hamilton, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont. and London, Ont. round out the list.

• Census 2016: Canada's population surpasses 35 million
• Population size and growth rate Canada, provinces, territories

The population of Winnipeg alone was 705,244 on July 1, 2016, Statistics Canada reported earlier this year.