After decades of declining numbers and an aging population, Cape Breton Regional Municipality was the fastest-growing area in Nova Scotia last year and the population is getting younger, according to new figures from the province's Finance Department.

The numbers, based on Statistics Canada data as of July 1, 2023, show CBRM grew by 6.7 per cent, while the second-fastest-growing municipality was Halifax, which increased its population by just over four per cent.

The figures show CBRM's growth was…