On January 1, 2023, Canada’s population reached 39,566,248 people, according to Statistics Canada. Since the start of the year, more than 200,000 people have joined, shows Canada’s population clock.
On the Internet, Statistics Canada presents a demographic clock that measures, according to a real-time model, the daily variation of the population. The instrument is broken down into six factors (births, deaths, immigration, etc.) of demographic variations, for Canada, the provinces and territories. “You have to see the clock as an educational tool,” says Patrice Dion, demographer at Statistics Canada. We take the most recent population estimates and enter them into the clock. This gives a reflection of the pace of growth. It’s very visual, but it’s not projections. »
Mr. Dion is careful not to make a prediction! “We don’t do interpolation,” he said. An in-house calculation from La Presse, based on the daily increase suggested by the population clock, fixes this date as June 17. “Statistics Canada will release a news release when this milestone is reached,” Dion said.
Let’s talk records. The Canadian population increased by 1,050,110 people in 2022, including 149,904 in Quebec. A first for a 12-month period, says Statistics Canada. And it is also the highest population growth rate (2.7%) since 1957 (3.3%).
What explains this dramatic leap? Mainly immigration, with 96% of the 1,050,110 inhabitants mentioned above. During 2022, Canada received 437,180 landed immigrants (including 68,687 in Quebec), according to Statistics Canada, and 607,782 non-permanent residents. Some will point to Roxham Road. But the sources of this increase are diverse: arrivals of Ukrainian refugees, the desire of the federal government to raise immigration thresholds to meet labor needs, and a record number of applications processed by federal officials.
He is weak ! In 2020, the fertility rate was 1.4 children, “an all-time low,” says Statistics Canada. In 2022, there were 369,036 births in Canada and 326,483 deaths, for a natural increase of 42,553 people. However, this rate differs from region to region. “In the Prairies, fertility is higher, often almost two children per woman, notes Patrice Dion. While in the Atlantic, the gap is already negative. There are more deaths than births. »
