ISLAMABAD/OTTAWA: Canada’s population increased by over a million people for the first time in 2023, the government data said.
The country’s population amplified from 38,516,138 to 39,566,248 people, the data shared by Statistics Canada said.
It also marked Canada’s highest yearly population growth rate of 2.7 per cent, since 1957.
The increase in the population was in part fuelled by government efforts to allow migrants to the country to make up for labour shortages, Statistics Canada said.
But the surge in permanent and temporary migrants could “also represent added challenges for some regions in the country related to housing, infrastructure and transportation, and service delivery to the population,” the agency said.
Statistics Canada said that migration accounted for nearly 96 percent of the total population growth.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been making efforts to attract more immigrants to the country, the second largest in terms of territory in the world. In 2022, the Canadian government announced a plan to welcome half a million immigrants a year by 2025.
The Canadian government has also accepted people from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Syria.
According to statistics, Canada welcomed 437,000 immigrants last year. At the same time, the number of non-permanent residents in the country jumped by 607,782, accounting for a “record-breaking year for the processing of immigration applications.”
The population increase also means Canada would rank first among the 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries for 2022 population growth. Statistics Canada said it was also the fastest-growing G7 country.
If Canada were to maintain the 2.7 per cent increase each year, its population would double in 26 years, the Canadian government said.
