Canada’s population growth continues its decline, StatCan says

CANADA Canada’s population growth continues its decline, StatCan says By Uday Rana Global News Posted September 23, 2026 2:08 pm Updated September 23, 2026 2:18 pm 2 min read WATCH LIVE: Question period in the House of Commons LEAVE A COMMENT SHARE THIS ITEM ON FACEBOOK SHARE THIS ITEM ON X SEND THIS PAGE TO SOMEONE VIA EMAIL SEE MORE SHARING OPTIONS DESCREASE ARTICLE FONT SIZE INCREASE ARTICLE FONT SIZE Canada’s population growth rate continues to decline, largely owing to declining migration trends, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. The population of Canada reached an estimated 41,798,407 people on July 1, 2026, an increase of 189,425 people or 0.5 per cent from July 1, 2025. This marked the lowest July-to-July growth in total population size since 1944/1945 and the lowest July-to-July percentage increase since 1915/1916, the agency added. Canada’s population growth rate for July peaked at 2.8 per cent in 2023/2024, but has been steadily slowing on an annual basis since then. The growth rate has more than halved compared to July 2024/2025, when it was 1.1 per cent. In the second quarter of the year, from April 1 to July 1, Canada saw its population increase by 80,343 people or 0.2 per cent. This was the lowest growth in a second quarter since the second quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had all but halted immigration levels. STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT Statistics Canada credited “changing international migration trends” with not only the slowdown in the population growth rate, but also with the average age in Canada increasing over the past two years. As of July 1, 2026, the average Canadian was 42.1 years old. Get breaking Montreal news Get breaking Montreal news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story. SIGN UP FOR BREAKING MONTREAL NEWSLETTER GET STARTED BY PROVIDING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO GLOBAL NEWS' TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY. The number of non-permanent residents in Canada dropped by 154,614 people from July 2025 to reach 2,779,774 on July 1, 2026, or 6.7 per cent of the total population. On Oct. 1, 2025, non-permanent residents were 7.2 per cent of the total population. This was mostly led by a massive decline in the number of study permit holders (declined by 140,827) and work-and-study permit holders (81,163 drop). The two segments that saw the largest declines in population were people between 20 and 24 years (2.4 per cent) and people…