(CNN) Canada saw record population growth in 2022, with immigration making up the vast majority of the 1.05 million new residents.
This is the first time in the country’s history that the population has grown by more than a million people in a 12-month period, according to a Statistics Canada news release released on Wednesday.
The total population hit 39,566,248 million on Jan. 1 — 2.7% more than a year earlier, with immigration accounting for 95.9% of that growth, according to the country’s statistics agency.
While other developed nations struggle with slower population growth, Canada has the fastest growing population of any G7 country and is in the top 20 globally with a growth rate of 2.7%.
If the country’s population continued to grow at the same rate, it would double in about 26 years, Statistics Canada said.
The number of immigrants arriving in Canada hit a record 437,180 in 2022, and the surge in immigration “is related to the Canadian government’s efforts to alleviate labor shortages in key sectors of the economy,” Statistics Canada said.
“High vacancies and labor shortages are occurring in a context where Canada’s aging population has accelerated and the unemployment rate remains near record lows,” the agency added.
In late 2022, the Canadian government announced that it plans to settle 1.5 million immigrants by 2025 to fill the gap in its economy created by an aging population.
Canada ranks highest on Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index, and Gallup data released December 7 last year shows that Canadians are consistently among those in the world most likely to view their communities as good places to live for migrants.
However, Statistics Canada points to some potential future challenges should the trend continue in 2022.
“An increase in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants could also pose additional challenges for some regions of the country in terms of housing, infrastructure and transportation, as well as the provision of services to the population,” the agency said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, is facing pressure from political opponents over migration levels as the number of people entering Canada from the US has surged.
In January, Canadian authorities encountered nearly 5,000 asylum seekers crossing the border illegally, according to the government.