Canada’s population growth slowed slightly in the last quarter of the year due to government efforts to reduce temporary migration. This marks the first time quarterly growth has slowed since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
International migration almost entirely accounts for the increase to Canada’s population. Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced plans to impose a soft cap on the number of temporary residents in January, which has rapidly increased since the pandemic and put pressure on the country’s housing stock. The specific limits will be announced this fall, but the government has taken steps to scale back the number of temporary workers and international students in Canada.
Statistics Canada reported a net increase of 117,836 non-permanent residents in the second quarter, the smallest net increase since the first quarter of 2023 and the third quarter in a row of smaller net increases in the number of non-permanent residents. The slower growth in temporary migrants was mainly due to changes to student visas.
Despite the slowing population growth, it remained higher than in any other second quarter before 2022. The country’s population reached an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1. Alberta posted the fastest growth rate among the provinces and territories with an increase of 1.0% in the quarter.
Source: The Star
Source: Financial Post
