Population growth slows for first time since start of pandemic as Canadian government clamps down

The latest figures from Statistics Canada show that the country's population reached 41,288,599 on July 1. Canada's population growth slowed slightly last quarter as the government took steps to reduce temporary immigration to the country. This is the first time that population growth has declined seasonally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

International immigration is almost entirely responsible for Canada's population growth. In January, Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced plans to introduce soft limits on the number of temporary residents in Canada, which have risen rapidly since the pandemic and put pressure on the country's housing market.

However, according to Statistics Canada, the number of non-permanent residents is still increasing, but the rate of growth has slowed since October 2023. In the second quarter, a net increase of 117,836 non-permanent residents was recorded, which is the lowest net increase since the first quarter of 2023 and the third consecutive quarter with a lower growth in the number of non-permanent residents.

The decline in temporary migrant growth is mainly due to changes in student visas. "That we're seeing a slowdown is positive and shows that a number of measures are working," Miller said.

Although the population growth rate is slowing, it still remains higher than in any second quarter before 2022. Alberta had the fastest growth rate among the provinces and territories with an increase of 1.0 percent, while the Northwest Territories experienced the slowest growth with an increase of 0.1 percent.

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