Immigration spurs record growth in Canada‘s population

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Canada’s population, spurred by immigration, jumped by over 1 million last year, the largest increase since the Second World War baby boom, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported Wednesday.

The growth raised the population to 39.57 million, with international migration accounting for 96% of the increase, StatCan said in a news release.

It cements and retains Canada’s title as the fastest growing G-7 country, with a growth rate of 2.7%.

“This marks the first 12-month period in Canada's history where the population grew by over 1 million people and the highest annual population growth rate (2.7%) on record since that seen for 1957 (3.3%),” StatCan said.

“This previous record population growth rate in 1957 was related to the high number of births during the post-war baby boom and the high immigration of refugees following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.”

StatCan said the increase is largely due to the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ramping up immigration to ease labor shortages and drive the Canadian economy. The government said the influx is necessary as the Canadian population ages.

A record 437,180 newcomers arrived in Canada in 2022, and the government said that number will rise to 500,000 annually by 2025.

Non-permanent residents also jumped last year to 607,782, fueled in part by Ukrainians fleeing from the war with Russia, StatCan said.

Canada has the second largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world. But with the influx brings some potential problems, StatCan said.​​​​​​​

“A rise in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants could also represent additional challenges for some regions of the country related to housing, infrastructure and transportation and service delivery to the population,” StatCan said.