Canada sees record population growth
In 2021/2022, Canada's population grew by a record 703,404 people (+1.8%) to reach an estimated 38,929,902 on July 1, 2022. This surpasses the preceding high observed a year before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018/2019), when the population grew by 536,146 people (+1.4%).
After a year of record low growth early in the pandemic (+0.6% in 2020/2021), Canada's population growth rate in 2021/2022 (+1.8%) reached a level that has not been seen in more than 50 years (+1.9% since 1965/1966), when the country was witnessing the end of the Baby Boom.
The vast majority of this growth (93.5%) was due to international migration as a result of the easing of COVID-19 border restrictions, increased immigration targets by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada and, to a lesser extent, people coming to Canada following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Canada welcomed 492,984 immigrants in 2021/2022 and saw an increase in the number of non-permanent residents (+205,238), both of which are record highs since comparable records became available in 1971/1972.
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