Canada's population growth continues to slow, consistent with lowered immigration targets - National Post

Canada has had its lowest year-over year population growth since World War Two, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. Photo by tampatra /Getty Images/iStockphotoArticle contentCanada has just marked its lowest year-over year population growth since the Second World War, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The population reached an estimated 41,798,407 people on July 1, 2026, an increase of 189,425 people from July 1, 2025, however this is the lowest annual growth since 1944/1945, says StatCan, when it grew by 126,000.

“The rapid changes in the population growth rate since 2020 are almost entirely attributable to changes in international migration,” states StatCan.

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Immigration targets under the Trudeau government were increased in 2016 from an annual average of 617,800 between 2000 to 2015 to approximately 1.4 million for 2016 to 2024. However, public concern about the impact on the affordability of housing resulted in substantial reductions, noted a Fraser Institute report. In the 2025 federal budget, the Carney government unveiled a new plan for 2026-28 immigration levels, outlining a more moderate approach, while focusing on steady economic immigration growth.

“In 2018, 3.3 per cent of Canada’s population were temporary residents. By 2024, that number had more than doubled to 7.5 per cent, an unprecedented rate of growth that put pressure on housing supply, the healthcare system, and schools,” according to the 2025 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, which states that “Canada’s new government recognizes that this system is no longer sustainable, and we are determined to make it so, for everyone who lives in and comes to this country.”

The number of new immigrants to Canada fell for the fourth consecutive year, down to 368,224 in 2025/2026, says this week’s StatCan report. That is “consistent” with lower targets set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, notes StatCan. It’s the first time since 2021/2022 that the annual number of immigrants has fallen below 400,000.