Canada’s Population Explosion — The Biggest Gain Since 1957

Canada’s population grew by more than half a million over the past year, the biggest increase in six decades.

On 27^th Sept’2018, Statistics Canada released preliminary estimates that showed the country’s population hitting 37.1 million on July 1, up 518,588 from a year earlier. That’s the biggest achievement since 1957. In growth terms, the 1.4% increase is the fastest pace in almost 30 years and the highest among Group of Seven nations.

The acceleration — which is being driven by international migration — is a benefit to the Canadian economy, helping to offset the impact of an aging workforce at a time when companies have been complaining about labour shortages.

International migration recorded the biggest increase ever measured in Canada’s history and accounted for about 80% of population growth, the Ottawa-based agency said. New immigrants totalled 303,257 over the past year and net non-permanent residents were up by 165,729.

While the non-permanent resident number — the highest in records going back to 1971 — was fuelled in part by a “strong increase” in asylum seekers, the gain was still largely due to a rise in work and study permit holders, the agency said.

Source: https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/migration-drives-canadas-biggest-population-gain-since-1957