Report: Immigration Fueling Record-High Population Growth In Canada

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Facts

  • Canada's population increased by over a million for the first time in its history in 2022, government census agency Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.1
  • The country's population was estimated at 39,566,248 on Jan. 1, 2023, after a record population annual growth rate — of 2.7% — since 1957.2
  • The previous spike in population was fueled by the post-World War II baby boom and high immigration of refugees following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In 2022, international migration accounted for nearly 96% of the population growth in Canada.3
  • Statistics Canada noted the biggest one-year population growth was encouraged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to recruit migrants to the country to ease labor shortages and accommodate people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other complex emergencies.4
  • Canada depends on immigration to bolster the gap in its economy created by an aging population. However, a 2.7% increase yearly would lead to the population doubling in about 26 years.5

Sources: 1Statcan, 2BBC News, 3CTVNews, 4Reuters, and 5CBC.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Wall Street Journal. While a growing population brings new energy and ideas, it comes as Canada struggles with a serious housing crisis. The country needs 3.5M additional homes above current home-building projections by 2030 to restore housing affordability. The government can increase immigration and help corporations, but it must remember a country can't build a thriving economy on temporary residents who threaten to congest the existing health, public, and social services.
  • Left narrative, as provided by Washington Post. The Canadian system absorbs well-educated, highly skilled, and entrepreneurial migrants with strong earnings prospects to support its economy. Canada never puts refugees or immigrants in shelters for political stunts — it puts them to work as immigration is a vital part of solving the acute labor market shortages and building a strong economy into the future.