Canada did not see historic population decline last year, StatsCan says after second look

Canada did not see historic population decline last year, StatsCan says after second look

Preliminary numbers suggested population decreased for first time in Canada's history

Canada's population saw a slight bump in 2025, Statistics Canada says, revising a previous estimate that showed the population decreased for the first time in the country's history.

The statistics agency released new numbers last week that suggest the population grew slightly, by 280,810 people, in all of 2025.

The new estimate is a revision from data released in March that indicated the country had seen an annual net decline in residents for the first time since Confederation.

"These estimates were preliminary and Statistics Canada indicated at the time that upcoming updates could be larger than usual and that the estimated population decrease could become an increase as more complete administrative data became available," a Statistics Canada spokesperson said in an email.

The agency said in March that the initial estimate should be treated "with caution" because work and study permit extensions could "lead to larger than usual updates" in the future.

Growth still slow, StatsCan says

The agency said the revised estimate still indicates a significant slowdown in population growth.

The government under former prime minister Justin Trudeau began cutting back on both permanent and temporary immigration after it rapidly increased during the post-pandemic labour shortage.

Prior to Prime Minister Mark Carney taking office, the Liberals had already taken steps to shrink temporary residents' share of Canada's population.

Carney's first budget said Canada would admit only 385,000 temporary residents in 2026 — about 43 per cent fewer than the 2025 target — and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.

The budget also said that the federal government would limit the number of new permanent residents to 380,000 annually between 2026 and 2028.