Canada’s population has grown by more than a million people in one year for the first time in its history, and that’s thanks to immigration.
Between January 1, 2022 and January 1, 2023, Canada’s population grew by 2.7%, or more than a million people (1,050,110), to nearly 40 million, according to Statistics.Canada. This is the highest annual population growth rate since 1957.
In that record year, the population grew by 3.3% in one year due to the post-war “baby boom” and a wave of immigration triggered by the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.
In 2022, 95.9% of the increase can be attributed to immigration, which is being fueled by government efforts to alleviate labor shortages, particularly those caused by the aging of the population.
Forecasts assume that Canada will double its population in about 26 years.
Population growth increases the housing shortage and puts a strain on the infrastructure, the transport system and services.
This places Canada at the top of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) in terms of population growth and in the top 20 in the world, behind a large majority of countries from Africa.