Canada's population grew by 1.27 million in 2023, the fastest rate since 1957

Canada’s population continues to grow at its fastest pace since 1957, according to Statistics Canada.

The agency said the population grew 3.2 per cent between Jan. 1, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2024 to 40,769,890.

There were 1,271,872 more people in Canada at the beginning of this year compared with 2023.

In 1957, when the population was under 20 million, the growth rate was 3.3 per cent.

The vast majority (97.6 per cent) of the increase in population between 2023 and 2024 was down to immigration, StatCan explained.

In British Columbia, the population grew from 5,431,355 at the beginning of 2023 to 5,609,870 by the end – an increase of 178,515.

Canada’s fertility rate hit an all-time low of 1.33 in 2022, meaning that without migration the country’s population would shrink dramatically.

“Most of Canada's 3.2 per cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” the agency said.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada's population growth would have been almost three times less (+1.2 per cent).”

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said last week the federal government intended to shrink the proportion of temporary residents in the overall Canadian population.

In 2023, they made up about 6.2 per cent of the population. Miller said his government wanted to bring that down slightly, to five per cent, by 2027.

Critics have said that, after a record rise in temporary migration in recent years, the policy is inadequate.

Canada’s surging population has been blamed for declining quality of life, stretched public services and extraordinarily high house prices.

Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada said employment “continues to grow more slowly than the population.”

Miller, however, said last week Canada’s “future economic vibrancy” depends on migration “whether we like that or not.”

According to previously released StatCan data, the population of Canada grew by more than 430,000 in the three months from July to October in 2023.

Between October and December, it grew by 241,494, the agency said.

That included over 100,000 permanent residents and over 150,000 temporary residents.

In BC, more Canadians left the province than moved there in 2023, with net interprovincial migration of -8,624.

“In general, the largest migration flows for British Columbia and Alberta are with each other, and most of the net loss from British Columbia in 2023 was to Alberta,” StatCan explained.