Immigration leads to Canada’s highest population growth since 1957

An influx of non-permanent residents, including students, has led to Canada recording its highest level of population increase in a single quarter in 66 years.

According to new data from Statistics Canada or StatCan, the country’s data agency, Canada’s population grew by 430,635 people from July 1 to October 1 this year. At a 1.1% increase, this was highest since the 1.2% growth recorded in 1957, which was caused by a post-World War II baby boom along with refugees entering the country following the Hungarian Revolution the previous year.

This time, it’s largely fuelled by non-permanent immigrants, including those on study or work permits, of whom a significant section come from India.

There was a net increase of 312,758 non-permanent residents in the quarter, which is the greatest quarterly increase going back to 1971, when such data was first collected.

In addition to the arrivals on temporary visas, there were also the ballooning numbers of permanent residents or PRs. Between July and September, Canada welcomed 107,972 new permanent residents. From January to September this year, immigration reached a figure of 371299 or 79.8 per cent of the annual target set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC, which is 465,000.

Overall, Canada’s population rose to over 40.5 million.

Sentiment in Canada has already risen against the high intake of immigrants in recent years. In a poll in November, the agency Abacus Data found that 67% of respondents considered the levels of immigration to Canada either way too high or too high, an increase of six percentage since July this year.

That trend in public opinion forced the Federal Government to announce in November it will not increase its target to immigration beginning from 2026, marking the first time since the Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came into power in 2015 that the immigration levels were not enhanced.

Ottawa will maintain its targets of 485,000 permanent residents for 2024 and 500,000 in 2025, as announced last year.

PRs from India Immigrants form the largest country cohort among new permanent residents or PRs. Last year, those from India comprised 118,224 or nearly 27% of the total 437,539 PRs admitted.

Similar numbers are evident when it comes to non-permanent residents. According to IRCC data, till October this year, Canada issued 553675 study permits, with Indian nationals accounting for over a third, at 208630.