Canada saw the highest population growth rate in 2023, a milestone that hasn’t been achieved in more than 60 years!
According to Statistics Canada, the country’s population as of Oct. 1 was estimated at 40,528,396, an increase of 430,635 people from July 1.
READ MORE: Canada’s population just surpassed 40M people and set a new record
This is considered the highest population growth in any quarter since the second quarter of 1957, a staggering 66 years ago, when the country’s population grew by 198,000.
“At the time, Canada’s population was 16.7 million people, and this rapid population growth resulted from the high number of births during the post-war baby boom and high immigration of refugees following the Hungarian Revolution in 1956,” the report read.
Regionally, the report adds that population growth rates during last quarter exceeded the national level of 1.1 per cent in Alberta (1.3 per cent), Prince Edward Island (1.2 per cent) and Ontario (1.2 per cent). The population grew in all provinces and territories, with the exception of the Northwest Territories (-0.5 per cent).
Statistics Canada says about 96 per cent of the country’s population growth in the third quarter is due to international migration.
The other four per cent is the result of natural increase or the difference between the number of births and deaths. Natural increase is expected to remain low in the coming years because of various factors such as aging population, lower fertility levels, and the high number of immigrants and non-permanent residents coming to Canada.
READ MORE: Newcomers to Canada are more susceptible to mental health struggles: Study
“Canada welcomed 107,972 immigrants in the third quarter. From January to September 2023, immigration reached 79.8 per cent (371,299) of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s target of 465,000 immigrants for the year,” the report said.
From July 1 to Oct. 1, the country saw the number of non-permanent residents increase to 2,511,437 million. This represents a net increase of 312,758 non-permanent residents in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly increase since 1971.
“The gain in non-permanent residents was mostly due to an increase in the number of work and study permit holders and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the number of refugee claimants,” the report explained.
