Canada: Historic population increase as a result of record immigration
Today, Wednesday, Statistics Canada reported that the country’s population increased by more than one million people for the first time in history, in the past year 2022, almost solely due to the increase in the number of immigrants and temporary residents.
The Statistics Agency stated that the total population in Canada grew by a record rate of 1.05 million people to reach 39.57 million in the 12 months to January 1, 2023, adding that about 96 percent of this increase resulted from international migration.
The agency pointed out that this increase helped Canada maintain its position as the fastest growing G7 country, which means that the population growth rate is 2.7 percent, which may result in a double population increase in about 26 years.
Canada relies on immigration to drive its economy and reverse an aging population, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s liberal government has dramatically increased immigration since taking office in 2015.
Ottawa also offers special programs to receive those temporarily affected by crises such as the Ukraine war, instability in Afghanistan, or recently the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
In 2022, Canada welcomed 437,180 immigrants and the number of non-permanent residents increased by a net rate of 607,782 people. Statistics Canada’s Statcan website states that both figures are the highest levels on record and reflect “higher immigration targets and a record year in processing immigration applications.”
It is noteworthy that Statistics Canada counts permanent and non-permanent residents in addition to newborns in calculating the population numbers.
Canada has been witnessing an upward trend in total employment since September 2022, knowing that the agency had previously indicated that non-permanent residents were significant contributors to these gains.
According to data from the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, immigration represents about 100 percent of the growth of the labor force in Canada, and that immigrants are expected to represent 30 percent of Canada’s population by 2036, up from 20.7 percent in 2011.
Under a three-year plan announced in November 2022, the Trudeau government aims to continue raising its annual target of immigrants by granting permanent residency to 465,000 people in 2023 and raising that target to 500,000 by 2025.
(Archyde.com)