Canada’s Population Hits 41M
Just nine months after its population hit 40 million, Canada has reached a new milestone.
As of this week, an estimated 41 million individuals reside in Canada, as per the live population tracker from Statistics Canada.
The remarkable pace of Canada’s population growth is underscored by recent data from the agency, revealing an addition of 1,271,872 people between January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024. This 3.2% increase in population is the most significant since 1957.
A significant portion of this growth, at 3.2%, is attributed to temporary immigration. Excluding this factor, the population growth rate would have been just 1.2%, according to Statistics Canada.
From the last quarter of 2023, Canada saw its population surge by 241,494 individuals (0.6%), marking the highest fourth-quarter growth rate since 1956.
In response to rising living costs, the Canadian government has recently taken steps to moderate the influx of temporary immigrants.
On March 21, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced plans to establish quotas for temporary residents to promote “sustainable” increases in the number of temporary entrants to the country.
Following this announcement, BMO economist Robert Kavcic noted that these new restrictions are likely to positively affect Canada’s rental and broader housing markets.