About 400,000 people moved to Alberta between 2006 and 2011, lifting the population to 3.5 million, and this growth is not expected to slow down. 2011 migration numbers are expected to set records and will total even more than what was seen in the boom of 2006.

Although these increases in population are present, the number of housing starts don’t seem to reflect this change. High River saw a decrease of 22 per cent total starts from October to December in 2012 and Strathmore saw a total decrease of 66 per cent. Okotoks showed a small increase of just 13 per cent total starts.

10 of the 15 fastest growing census areas in Canada are located in Alberta, here is a closer look at how they are growing and the challenges they face.