Canada population drops 0.2% in third quarter

Ottawa, Canada: Canada s population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at 41.6 million, marking the only quarterly decline on record outside t...

Ottawa, Canada: Canada’s population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at 41.6 million, marking the only quarterly decline on record outside the Covid-19 era and a dramatic shift from explosive post-pandemic immigration growth.

The decrease was led by a record drop in non-permanent residents, Statistics Canada reported. Prime Minister Mark Carney has continued a policy introduced by his predecessor to shrink the number of foreign students, temporary workers and asylum-seekers in the country after their numbers ballooned in 2023 and 2024.

In the third quarter, the population grew just 0.2% from a year earlier, the lowest on record in data going back to 1947. That contrasts with a 3.2% annual rate in 2023, on par with some developing countries with high birth rates.

Carney, in his immigration plan released last month, further slashed the levels of temporary residents allowed in the country for the next three years and made deeper cuts to study permits. At the same time, however, he promised C$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) to recruit international researchers and a new pathway to lure H-1B visa holders.

As of the third quarter, temporary residents made up 6.8% of Canada’s population, down from a peak of 7.6%.