Canada’s population growth has picked up pace and in the year to July 1, 2019, recorded its highest number of new residents ever.
Statistics Canada says that the population was estimated at 37,589,262 on July 1, 2019, up 531,497 from a year earlier and the equivalent of 1 new person arriving every minute.
Meanwhile, the number of people reaching 100+ years of age was the highest ever at 10,000 with Baby Boomers now making up the largest share of seniors.
The growth rate of Canada’s population was the highest among G7 nations at 1.4% compared to the US and UK (0.6% each), Germany (0.3%), and France (0.2%). Italy and Japan each saw declines of 0.2%.
The Canadian gain was also the highest since 1989/1990 when it was 1.5%.
Immigrants made up the largest cohort among the increase in 2018/2019 at 313,580, one of the highest levels in Canadian history, while the increase in non-permanent residents was the highest ever at 171,536.
Provincial gains
The biggest increases in population were in Prince Edward Island (+2.2%) while Newfoundland and Labrador remained the exception, posting a population decrease (-0.8%) for a third consecutive year.
Quebec (+1.2%) saw its largest population increase in 30 years, Ontario (+1.7%) recorded one of the highest growth rates for the same period, and Alberta's population growth (+1.6%) accelerated for a second consecutive year.
