Canada’s appeal as an immigration destination has been increasing over the past two decades, with a total of 464,265 people immigrating to the country in 2024. This figure is an increase from 2000-2001, when approximately 252,527 immigrants came to Canada. Immigration to the Great White North Between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, there were an estimated 199,297 immigrants to Ontario, making it the most popular immigration destination out of any province. While the number of immigrants has been increasing over the years, in 2024 over half of surveyed Canadians believed that there were too many immigrants in the country. However, in 2017, the Canadian government announced its aim to significantly increase the number of permanent residents to Canada in order to combat an aging workforce and the decline of working-age adults. Profiles of immigrants to Canada The gender of immigrants to Canada in 2023 was just about an even split, with 234,279 male immigrants and 234,538 female immigrants. In addition, most foreign-born individuals in Canada came from India, followed by China and the Philippines. The United States was the fifth most common origin country for foreign-born residents in Canada.

Components of population growth, annual: births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigrants, net interprovincial migration, net non-permanent residents, residual deviation.

The total population in Canada was estimated at 41.5 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Canada Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Components of international migratory increase, quarterly: immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigrants, net non-permanent residents.

It is presumed that the first humans migrated from Siberia to North America approximately twelve thousand years ago, where they then moved southwards to warmer lands. It was not until many centuries later that humans returned to the north and began to settle regions that are now part of Canada. Despite a few short-lived Viking settlements on Newfoundland around the turn of the first millennium CE, the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), became the first European to explore the coast of North America in the late 1400s. The French and British crowns both made claims to areas of Canada throughout the sixteenth century, but real colonization and settlement did not begin until the early seventeenth century. Over the next 150 years, France and Britain competed to take control of the booming fur and fishing trade, and to expand their overseas empires. In the Seven Year's War, Britain eventually defeated the French colonists in North America, through superior numbers and a stronger agriculture resources in the southern colonies, and the outcome of the war saw France cede practically all of it's colonies in North America to the British.

Increased migration and declining native populations

The early 1800s saw a large influx of migrants into Canada, with the Irish Potato Famine bringing the first wave of mass-migration to the country, with further migration coming from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It is estimated that the region received just shy of one million migrants from the British Isles alone, between 1815 and 1850, which helped the population grow to 2.5 million in the mid-1800s and 5.5 million in 1900. It is also estimated that infectious diseases killed around 25 to 33 percent of all Europeans who migrated to Canada before 1891, and around a third of the Canadian population is estimated to have emigrated southwards to the United States in the 1871-1896 period. From the time of European colonization until the mid-nineteenth century, the native population of Canada dropped from roughly 500,000 (some estimates put it as high as two million) to just over 100,000; this was due to a mixture of disease, starvation and warfare, instigated by European migration to the region. The native population was generally segregated and oppressed until the second half of the 1900s; Native Canadians were given the vote in 1960, and, despite their complicated and difficult history, the Canadian government has made significant progress in trying to include indigenous cultures in the country's national identity in recent years. As of 2020, Indigenous Canadians make up more than five percent of the total Canadian population, and a higher birth rate means that this share of the population is expected to grow in the coming decades.

Independence and modern Canada

Canadian independence was finally acknowledged in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, putting it on equal terms with the United Kingdom within the Commonwealth; virtually granting independence and sovereignty until the Canada Act of 1982 formalized it. Over the past century, Canada has had a relatively stable political system and economy (although it was hit particularly badly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929). Canada entered the First World War with Britain, and as an independent Allied Power in the Second World War; Canadian forces played pivotal roles in a number of campaigns, notably Canada's Hundred Days in WWI, and the country lost more than 100,000 men across both conflicts. The economy boomed in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a stream of socially democratic programs such as universal health care and the Canadian pension plan were introduced, which contributed to a rise in the standard of living. The post war period also saw various territories deciding to join Canada, with Newfoundland joining in 1949, and Nunavut in 1999. Today Canada is among the most highly ranked in countries in terms of civil liberties, quality of life and economic growth. It promotes and welcomes immigrants from all over the world and, as a result, it has one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural populations of any country in the world. As of 2020, Canada's population stands at around 38 million people, and continues to grow due to high migration levels and life expectancy, and a steady birth rate.

Components of projected population growth by scenario: births, deaths, immigrants, net emigration, net interprovincial migration, net non-permanent residents.

This table contains 25 series, with data for years 1955 - 2013 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...) Last permanent residence (25 items: Total immigrants; France; Great Britain; Total Europe ...).

The provide detailed statistical tables for 18 scenarios by single year of the projection period (2001 to 2017). For each of the scenarios, data are available for persons who identify with each of the following three groups: the North American Indian population, the Métis or the Inuit. All three groups were projected separately for each of the ten provinces and three territories. However, the subprovincial and subterritorial level shown for the three groups varies as it depends on the groups' size. For the North American Indians, future numbers were calculated for the urban parts of all census metropolitan areas (CMAs), urban areas outside CMAs, rural areas and reserves. For the Métis, places of residence were grouped into urban parts of CMAs, urban areas outside CMAs and rural areas, which also include reserves. Because of their relatively small size, the Inuit population was projected separately for urban and rural locations only. This information is further broken down by age and sex. The 18 scenarios, as well as scenario-specific assumptions on the future trend in fertility and internal migration, are presented in the table below. In addition to these two components of population growth, all scenarios assumed declining mortality and negligible importance of international migration to the change of the size of three Aboriginal groups. The statistical tables of this CD-ROM are organized into three sections: 1 - Aboriginal groups - The projected population by Aboriginal group, type of residence, province/territory and sex for the 18 scenarios by single year from 2001 to 2017; 2 - Age and sex - The projected population by Aboriginal group, type of residence, age group and sex for the 18 scenarios by single year from 2001 to 2017; and 3 - Province/territory - The projected total Aboriginal population by province/territory, age group, sex and type of residence for the 18 scenarios for 2001 and 2017. The statistical tables are supplementary to the publication Projections of the Aboriginal populations, Canada, provinces and territories: 2001 to 2017 (catalogue no. 91-547). For current population projections for Canada, provinces, and territories data refer to Statistics Canada Access data by All-Aboriginal Groups here Access data by Age and Sex here Access data by Provinces and Territories here

Author: J Trygestad, educator, Minnesota Alliance for Geographic EducationGrade/Audience: grade 8Resource type: lessonSubject topic(s): population, physical geography, migrationRegion: north americaStandards: Minnesota Social Studies Standards

Standard 5. The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on the earth’s surface influence human systems (cultural, economic and political systems). Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Describe Canada’s population distribution, density and growth.
2. Describe how Canada’s physical geography affects the location and size of its population centers.
3. Describe the patterns of Canada’s recent immigration and migration.
4. Describe the diversity of Canada’s population as a culture mosaic.Summary: Students describe the distribution, density and growth of Canada’s population based on patterns of current and historic settlement and physical features. Students also describe Canada’s culture mosaic addressing current immigration, migration, and culture patterns.

People who have been granted permanent resident status in Canada. Please note that in these datasets, the figures have been suppressed or rounded to prevent the identification of individuals when the datasets are compiled and compared with other publicly available statistics. Values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--“ and all other values are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5. This may result to the sum of the figures not equating to the totals indicated.

Statistics Canada has published five sets of population projections for Canada, provinces and territories since 1974, with the last report in 1994. The projections issued on a regular basis ensure methodologically and numerically consistent and comparable population projections at the national and provincial/territorial level. This report contains Statistics Canada's first population projections to the year 2026. It also describes the methodology and the assumptions and provides a brief analysis of the results. The projections in this report use the 2000 preliminary population estimates as their base which are based on the 1996 Census. They take into account emerging demographic trends, primarily based on recent changes in the components of population growth. These include the notable changes in immigration target levels, a further reduction in fertility level, a continued increase in life expectancy, and significant changes in interprovincial migration trends, especially the reduction of out-migration trends in the Atlantic provinces.There has also been a significant upward revision in emigration estimates since 1996. The new projections take into consideration the impact of this change on the dynamics of future population growth. For current population projections for Canada, provinces, and territories data refer to Statistics Canada Access data here

The number of immigrants in British Columbia were 63,570 people in 2023. Between 1971 and 2023, the immigrants rose by 45,170 people, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Graph and download economic data for Net migration for Canada (SMPOPNETMCAN) from 1962 to 2017 about migration, Canada, Net, 5-year, and population.

Since 2001, the number of immigrants arriving in the city of Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario, has been fluctuating, but overall increasing. There were slightly more than 123,000 people immigrating to the city in 2001, compared to almost 160,000 twenty years later.
Toronto is the Canadian city with the highest number of immigrants arriving, followed by Vancouver.

Components of projected population growth by scenario: births, deaths, immigrants, net emigration, net interprovincial migration, net non-permanent residents.

Data on immigrant status and period of immigration by gender and age for the population in private households in Canada, provinces and territories.

These estimates take into account the counts of the 2006 Census,adjusted for net census undercoverage and are based on the 2006 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). The publication includes statistics for the demographic components that were used to produce the population estimates (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, immigration, emigration, net temporary emigration, returning emigration, internal migration and non-permanent residents) by age and sex. In addition, the publicat ion contains highlights of current demographic trends and a description of the methodology. It also provides additional data such as a chronological series of estimates by various levels of geography. With regard to provinces and territories, the estimates date back to 1971 (tables and animated age pyramid), 1996 for census divisions, census metropolitan areas and economic regions as well as census families.Note that the title of this product has changed for the 2007/08 edition, which is called Canadian Demographic Estimates.

Components of population growth by census metropolitan area: births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigrants, net interprovincial migration, net non-permanent residents, residual deviation.

The number of immigrants in Ontario stood at 197,660 people in 2023. Between 1971 and 2023, the immigrants rose by 135,400 people, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Components of population growth, annual: births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigrants, net interprovincial migration, net non-permanent residents, residual deviation.