Canada’s skyrocketing population is about to hit 42 million people

Canada is on the brink of another significant milestone in less than a year: months after reaching 41 million, the population is set to hit 42 million.

Canada reached the 40 million mark in June last year, and it didn’t take long to reach 41 million in March 2024. Eight months later, the total count is inching closer to 42 million.

Statistics Canada’s population clock tracks the “real-time changes to the size of the Canadian population and the provinces and territories.” The tracker measures the changes by taking into account the rate of births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, non-permanent residents, and inter-provincial migrants.

As of Sunday, November 10, the population was 41,818,597, and according to the tracker, it had changed by 1,519 since midnight.

Despite this increase, a September report states that the growth rate from April 1 to July 1 showed “signs of slowing down.”

“This marked the first time since 2020 that quarterly growth has been slower than in the same quarter a year earlier,” it reads. “In 2020, population growth was almost halted following border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

According to the population tracker, Ontario is the most populous province, with 16,363,238 people, followed by Quebec, 9,141,511 people, and BC, 5,777,592. Nunavut remains the smallest, with a population of 41,524, a slight uptick from 40,511 in March.

Alberta was the fastest-growing province from April 1 to July 1, with high levels of international migration, interprovincial migration, and natural increase. In comparison, the Northwest Territories saw the slowest growth, even losing 165 residents to interprovincial migration.

Laurent Martel, director of Statistics Canada’s demography division, explained the tracker’s importance in a video.

“Statistics Canada’s population estimates are used in the context of many governmental programs,” he said.