Canada’s Population Surges to 41 Million, Marks Record Growth Rate.
Canada’s Population Surges to 41 Million, Marks Record Growth Rate
Canada’s population has soared past the 41 million mark, a milestone achieved just nine months after reaching 40 million, as reported by Statistics Canada’s live population tracker.
The federal agency unveiled new data on Wednesday, revealing a remarkable surge in population growth. Between January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, Canada welcomed an additional 1,271,872 inhabitants, marking a staggering 3.2 percent growth rate—the highest since 1957.
Statistics Canada attributed the majority of this growth to temporary immigration, indicating that without it, the population growth would have stood at 1.2 percent.
Growing Population
Canada’s Fourth Quarter Sees Highest Population Growth Since 1956
During the period spanning from October 1 to December 31, 2023, Canada experienced a notable surge in population, adding 241,494 individuals, marking a growth rate of 0.6 percent—the highest observed in a fourth quarter since 1956.
Statistics Canada revealed that last year, 55,107 Canadians relocated to Alberta, marking the most significant gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972.
The province of Alberta has been witnessing a reversal in population trends since 2022, with a shift from net outmigration seen between 2016 and 2021 to a notable influx of people from other parts of Canada.
In 2023, approximately 333,000 Canadians opted to move between provinces or territories, marking the second-highest number recorded since the 1990s. This also marked the third consecutive year where interprovincial migration surpassed the 300,000 mark.
Conversely, British Columbia saw 8,624 more residents leave than arrive in 2023, resulting in negative net interprovincial migration for the first time since 2012, according to Statistics Canada.
The primary migration flows for British Columbia and Alberta continue to be between each other, with the majority of the net loss from British Columbia in 2023 attributed to migration to Alberta.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, faced a considerable setback in 2023 as it lost 36,197 individuals to other regions, marking the largest regional loss for the year, according to Statistics Canada.
This decline follows a similar trend observed in 2022 when Ontario experienced a loss of 38,816 people. The province’s loss in 2023 ranks among the few instances where a region in Canada has witnessed an outmigration exceeding 35,000 people, with comparable cases seen in Quebec in 1977 and 1978.
Aside from Alberta, other provinces also saw increases in net interprovincial migration. Nova Scotia gained 6,169 individuals, New Brunswick gained 4,790, and Prince Edward Island gained 818. However, Statistics Canada noted that despite these gains, all three Maritime provinces received fewer interprovincial migrants in 2023 compared to the preceding two years.
