Most people live closer to the United States, but Canada also features several major metropolitan areas farther north.
A car crosses the new Madawaska/Edmundston International Bridge in February 2025. The new bridge, which connects the two communities and countries, opened in June 2024. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)1 min read

Ninety percent of Canada’s population does not live within 100 miles (about 161 kilometers) of the country’s borders with the northern continental U.S. and Alaska.
As of Canada’s 2021 census, 76% of Canadians lived within 100 miles of a U.S. border, Statistics Canada spokesperson Maryse Carrière told a reporter by email. (The agency has previously described the share as about three-quarters.)
The 90% figure is based on a wider range: In 2023, Canada’s Department of Finance said more than 90% of Canadians live within 150 miles (or about 241 kilometers) of the U.S. border. A Natural Resources Canada document gives the same percentage.
Statistics Canada also reported that 66% of Canadians lived within 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) of the border between the northern U.S. and southern Canada in 2021. That figure excludes those living near the border with Alaska.
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