Canada's population growth stalled in the first quarter, StatCan says
OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says population growth stalled in the first quarter.
The agency says the Canadian population rose by 20,107 people from Jan. 1 to April 1 to 41,548,787, the smallest increase since the third quarter of 2020 when it contracted by 1,232 people.
The increase was so small that it amounted to effectively no growth, StatCan said.
'This was the second-slowest quarterly growth rate in Canada since comparable records began (first quarter of 1946), behind only the third quarter of 2020 and tied with the fourth quarter of 2014,' the agency said in its release Wednesday.
It was the sixth consecutive quarter of slower population growth after a decision by the federal government in 2024 to lower the levels of both temporary and permanent immigration.
However, immigration still accounted for all of the population growth in the quarter as there were 5,628 more deaths than births in Canada.
Canada admitted 104,256 immigrants in the first quarter of 2025, while net emigration totalled 17,410.
Meanwhile, the number of non-permanent residents dropped by 61,111.
While the rate of population growth slowed during the first quarter, Statistics Canada said immigration levels remain high, though comparatively lower than in recent years.
The agency said it was the smallest number of immigrants admitted during a first quarter in four years.
'However, prior to 2022, Canada had never welcomed more than 86,246 immigrants in a first quarter (which occurred in the first quarter of 2016),' the agency said.
In October of last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released information on its 2025-27 Immigration Levels Plan, which included targets for international students and temporary foreign workers for the first time.
'In recent years, Canada welcomed newcomers to support our economy and address labour market needs. As we move away from post-pandemic measures, there is a need to better align temporary and permanent resident immigration levels with community capacity,' the federal government said at the time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cision Canada
4 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
TOEFL ESSENTIALS: A RELIABLE ENGLISH TEST SOON AVAILABLE FOR CANADIAN IMMIGRATION APPLICATIONS
PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 21, 2025 /CNW/ -- ETS, a global leader in education and talent solutions, today announced that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has added ETS to its list of designated language testing organizations for the TOEFL Essentials test, for use in Canadian permanent economic immigration applications. IRCC is not yet accepting TOEFL Essentials scores and will update its website once acceptance begins. In the meantime, ETS is working with IRCC on the steps leading up to acceptance and will share timing and test location details once confirmed. Grounded in ETS's mission to advance the science of measurement to power human progress, TOEFL Essentials offers a high-quality, reliable, and accessible pathway for aspiring newcomers to demonstrate their English skills. A Practical, Real-World Test for Today's Immigrants TOEFL Essentials measures all four core language skills—listening, reading, writing, and speaking—through tasks that reflect the communication skills immigrants need to work, live, and thrive in Canada. The test's engaging, task-based design can be completed in approximately 1.5 hours at a secure test center. "As a Canadian and a non-native English speaker, I understand firsthand the challenges and opportunities of proving your language skills," said Omar Chihane, Global General Manager of TOEFL at ETS. "Now that TOEFL Essentials is approved for Canadian economic immigration, test takers have a trusted, high-quality option designed for those building a life in Canada, while TOEFL iBT continues to serve as the gold-standard path for those who want to study there." Meeting Canada's Immigration Goals Canada's 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan sets clear annual targets to attract talent in healthcare, engineering, technology, and skilled trades. Once IRCC begins accepting TOEFL Essentials scores, this will offer a reliable pathway to meet English-language requirements, supporting both applicants and the professionals who guide them through their immigration journey. Accessible in Canada and Worldwide The TOEFL Essentials test will be offered at secure test centers across Canada and globally. To stay updated, visit Designated language testing organizations - About ETS ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners to be future ready. Our mission – advancing the science of measurement to power human progress – ensures our focus to enable everyone, everywhere, to demonstrate their skills and chart their path to future readiness for life. We are committed to readying 100M+ people for the next generation of jobs by 2035. We deliver on this commitment through trusted assessments and skills solutions – including TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE, Praxis and Futurenav – and groundbreaking initiatives powered by our Research Institute. With a robust global footprint, including subsidiaries like PSI, offices and operations in more than 200 countries and territories, we help over 50 million individuals each year measure their proficiency and unlock new opportunities. Discover how we expand our worldwide impact:
CTV News
4 minutes ago
- CTV News
How will the Air Canada strike impact Canada Post negotiations?
Watch Lawyer Lily Coodin discusses how the Air Canada strike could impact what happens during negotiations between Canada Post and postal workers.
CTV News
4 minutes ago
- CTV News
Flight attendants refused a back-to-work order. What does this mean for postal workers?
Lawyer Lily Coodin discusses how the Air Canada strike could impact what happens during negotiations between Canada Post and postal workers. Last week, Air Canada flight attendants refused to comply with a federal return-to-work order, extending a strike long enough to secure a new deal with their airline. Toronto-based labour lawyer Lily Coodin says that could be interesting news to the union representing Canadian postal workers, whose strike was paused late last year by a similar federal mandate. 'I think anyone working in a unionized context, especially Canada Post, is looking closely at what happened with Air Canada,' she told CTV Your Morning in an interview Thursday. 'If you are a union engaged in negotiations right now, you're thinking: 'Is this a tactic I may want to use in the future'?' Flight attendants began striking overnight Saturday after a breakdown in contract negotiations, most prominently over compensation for work done before and after takeoff. The strike, which the airline says grounded hundreds of flights and disrupted travel plans for more than 100,000 passengers, lasted less than a day before the government intervened. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced Saturday afternoon that she was ordering operations to resume under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, extending the previous collective agreement and arranging binding arbitration to determine a new contract. The flight attendants rejected those orders, continuing to strike under potential threats of fines and imprisonment until they reached a new tentative agreement with Air Canada Tuesday, pending a coming union vote. The government gave a similar order late last year, following a month-long strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), but as negotiations with Canada Post drag on, questions have emerged about the legislation that forced them back to the bargaining table in the first place. 'People are wondering: What is the value of Section 107 if a union can say: 'Actually, we don't like that order, and we're not going to comply'?' Coodin said. 'Everyone is taking note, and we will probably see more of this, going forward.' She said that, historically, Section 107 leans toward supporting employers, as it weakens the power of unions to apply pressure through work stoppages. 'If you take away that ability to strike, which is by the way a constitutionally protected right, that is a major tool that the union loses,' Coodin said. 'This tends to be more favourable to the company.' Earlier this week, Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske described the section as 'effectively dead," now that the flight attendants have shown it pays to ignore the order. 'Unions, workers, the labour movement has been emboldened by this and we're not going to turn around,' she told The Canadian Press in an interview Tuesday. In recent months, the CUPW has rejected what Canada Post called its "final offer," though the union has since returned with a new counter offer, and it remains unclear if a resumed strike is on the horizon. With files from The Canadian Press
