Foreign Arrivals Drive Canada's Rapid Population Growth
Via Al Jazeera
The Story
Canada recorded its fastest population growth since 1957 in 2022, adding more than one million residents in a single year to reach 39.5 million, the first time the country grew by over a million people in a 12 month span.
International migration drove nearly 96 percent of that increase, with the government welcoming a record 437,180 new immigrants and setting targets to reach 500,000 arrivals a year by 2025.
A surge in temporary residents holding work or study permits, which climbed to 607,782, added further to the totals.
Statistics Canada tied the influx to high job vacancies and labor shortages, along with an aging population in which one in seven residents is between 55 and 64.
The intake also included people fleeing Ukraine, Afghanistan, and earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Officials acknowledged the rapid growth could strain housing, infrastructure, transportation, and public services in some regions, making population one of the year's defining policy debates.
International migration drove nearly 96 percent of that increase, with the government welcoming a record 437,180 new immigrants and setting targets to reach 500,000 arrivals a year by 2025.
A surge in temporary residents holding work or study permits, which climbed to 607,782, added further to the totals.
Statistics Canada tied the influx to high job vacancies and labor shortages, along with an aging population in which one in seven residents is between 55 and 64.
The intake also included people fleeing Ukraine, Afghanistan, and earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Officials acknowledged the rapid growth could strain housing, infrastructure, transportation, and public services in some regions, making population one of the year's defining policy debates.
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