Canada’s population slips to 41.47 million as growth slows at start of 2026
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابCanada opened 2026 with a slight quarterly population decline, underscoring a clear slowdown in the demographic momentum that had defined recent years. Preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada show the country’s population stood at 41,472,081 on January 1, 2026, down by 103,504 people, or 0.2 percent, from October 1, 2025.
The main driver was a drop in non-permanent residents. Statistics Canada said their number fell by 171,296 in the fourth quarter of 2025, reversing one of the strongest engines of population growth seen in earlier periods. Negative natural increase, meaning deaths outnumbered births, also weighed on the national total during the quarter.
Permanent immigration remained the only positive component of growth, but it also slowed. Canada welcomed 83,168 permanent immigrants in the fourth quarter of 2025, down 19.6 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.
The provincial picture was uneven. British Columbia posted the sharpest quarterly decline at 0.4 percent, followed by Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island at 0.3 percent each. Alberta was the fastest-growing province over the same period, though growth was modest at 0.1 percent.
The broader economic backdrop adds to the significance of the new population figures. Canada’s annual inflation rate came in at 1.8 percent in February, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent after the economy lost 84,000 jobs in the month. Together, those figures point to a softer start to 2026, with slower population growth, a weaker labour market and persistent cost-of-living pressure even as inflation cools.
Statistics Canada stressed that these are still preliminary estimates and may be revised in the coming months, especially as immigration policy changes and permit extensions are incorporated into updated data.
