Immigration spurs record growth in Canada‘s population

Canada’s population, spurred by immigration, jumped by over 1 million last year, the largest increase since the Second World War baby boom, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported Wednesday.  

The growth raised the population to 39.57 million, with international migration accounting for 96% of the increase, StatCan said in a news release.

It cements and retains Canada’s title as the fastest growing G-7 country, with a growth rate of 2.7%.

“This marks the first 12-month period in Canada's history where the population grew by over 1 million people and the highest annual population growth rate (2.7%) on record since that seen for 1957 (3.3%),” StatCan said.

“This previous record population growth rate in 1957 was related to the high number of births during the post-war baby boom and the high immigration of refugees following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.”