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Calgary's new mayor, Naheed Nenshi, visiting Toronto and taking the opportunity to speak with the Toronto and national media, speaks with members of The Globe and Mail editorial board on Feb. 10, 2011.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail/The Globe and Mail

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi used his city's latest census data to explain why he's still single.

"Calgary needs women," dead-panned the first-term and wildly popular mayor as he revealed Alberta's most populous city is now home to 1,090,936 people, which is a 1.81 per cent increase in April, 2011 over April, 2010.

But of all those counted, 547,782 were male and 543,154 were female.

Mr. Nenshi, 39, pointed out that the gender gap is particularly glaring in the 25 to 44 age demographic. That, he said, explains "a lot of the challenges I have in my dating life."

The population growth is similar to what the city saw between 2001 and 2003 and is evidence of an economic rebound, officials said. Increases came both from newcomers and new babies.

Over the census period, 9,563 more people moved to Calgary than moved away, which marked a significant change from 2010 when the city experienced a negative net migration with 4,154 leaving the city.

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