Canada Saw Record-High Population Growth in 2022: StatCan

Refugees from Afghanistan and Canadian citizens board a bus after being processed at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Aug 17, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Canada reached a new high for population growth last year, increasing by over 1 million people, making it the highest recorded annual population growth on record since 1957.

Statistics Canada released new demographic estimates for Canada on March 22, indicating that the provinces and territories grew in population by 1,050,110 during the period from Jan. 1, 2022, to Jan. 1, 2023.

The population growth in 1957, the year that held the previous record, is attributed to higher births “during the post-war baby boom and the high immigration of refugees following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956,” according to the agency.

International migration is what accounted for 95.9 percent of all of Canada’s population growth last year. With Canada’s population growth rate of 2.7 percent in 2022, it places the country in the top 20 in the world, said Statistics Canada.

“Compared with 2021 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country growth rates, the latest available for all members, Canada would rank first with a population growth of 2.7 percent for the year 2022,” it said.

The agency noted that almost all countries that saw a higher pace of population growth were in Africa; and if this growth rate stays constant in the future, the Canadian population could double in roughly 26 years.

Statistics Canada attributed international migration numbers to the federal government’s increasing immigration targets, while noting that a rise in temporary and permanent immigrants brings with it challenges related to housing, infrastructure, transportation, and service delivery.

In 2022, Canada allowed the entry of 437,180 immigrants and saw a net increase in the number of non-permanent residents estimated at 607,782. Both of these numbers represent the highest levels on record, reflecting higher immigration targets and a record-breaking year for the processing of immigration applications at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, according to the agency.

The estimated growth in the number of non-permanent residents in 2022 is the highest for any single calendar year that has data available for comparison, Statistics Canada said. Just in the fourth quarter, from Oct. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022, Canada grew by 0.7 percent, or 273,893 people, the highest growth rate in a fourth quarter since 1956.

“All provinces and territories saw a year-over-year increase in the net estimated number of non-permanent residents in 2022, with work and study permits, in addition to the number of asylum claimants, up across the country,” it said.

The government attributed the increase to international migration as well as the program created to welcome Ukrainian citizens and family members.

According to Immigration Canada, between Jan. 1, 2022, and March 19, 2023, 25,518 Ukrainian citizens, or returning Canadian permanent residents of Ukrainian origin, entered Canada by land. Another 165,452 arrived in Canada by air.

All of the estimates are based on 2016 Census counts, said Statistics Canada. The agency said new population estimates based on the 2021 census would be published in September 2023.