Canada’s population growth hits an 80-year low as immigration slows

Floyd Brenz., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 25, 2026

Photo Courtesy: The Globe and Mail

CANADA – For years, Canada’s population grew at a pace rarely seen in its modern history. Now, that growth is slowing sharply.

New figures from Statistics Canada show the country added just 189,425 people between July 2025 and July 2026, bringing the population to an estimated 41.8 million. That represents annual growth of only 0.5 percent, the slowest July-to-July increase since 1944-45.

The slowdown follows several years of rapid population growth, which peaked at 2.8 percent in 2023-24 before falling to 1.1 percent in 2024-25 and now 0.5 percent. Statistics Canada said the major shifts in population growth since 2020 have been driven almost entirely by changes in international migration.

One of the clearest changes is the declining number of non-permanent residents. Their population fell by about 155,000 over the past year to 2.78 million, with the biggest decreases recorded among people holding study and work-study permits.

Permanent immigration has also slowed. Canada welcomed 368,224 new immigrants from July 2025 to July 2026, the fourth consecutive annual decline and the first time since 2021-22 that the figure fell below 400,000. Statistics Canada said the reduction is consistent with the federal government’s lower immigration targets.

The slowdown is not uniform across the country. Alberta recorded the fastest provincial population growth at 1.5 percent, while Ontario grew by 0.3 percent, Quebec by 0.2 percent and British Columbia by just 0.1 percent.

The demographic shift comes as Ottawa moves toward more moderate immigration levels, including efforts to reduce the proportion of non-permanent residents to below 5 percent of the population by the end of 2027.

Canada is therefore entering a very different demographic period from the rapid-growth years that followed the pandemic. The latest numbers show that the country’s population is still growing, but at a dramatically slower pace — reflecting a major change in immigration and population policy.