What is the population of Canada?

Canada's population is about 41 million people in 2025 according to Statistics Canada quarterly population estimates. The country reached 40 million on June 16, 2023, the fastest one-million addition in Canadian history at less than two years from the previous milestone of 39 million in February 2022. Population growth in Canada averaged about 2.5 to 3.0 per cent annually during 2022 and 2023, the highest sustained growth rate among G7 countries.

Almost all of Canada's net population growth comes from immigration. Canada admitted 471,808 permanent residents in 2023, the highest annual number in Canadian history, and about 470,000 in 2024. The federal Immigration Levels Plan announced October 2024 reduced targets to 395,000 permanent residents in 2025 and 380,000 in 2026, after concerns about housing affordability and infrastructure capacity. Temporary residents (international students and temporary foreign workers) add about 800,000 to 1.0 million per year, with federal caps and reductions in place since 2024. The Statistics Canada 2021 census recorded that 23 per cent of Canadians were born outside Canada, the highest proportion of any G7 country.

Canada's population distribution is concentrated. About 82 per cent of Canadians live in urban areas, and about 90 per cent live within 160 kilometres of the Canada-US border. The Quebec City to Windsor Corridor (containing Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Hamilton, and Quebec City) holds about half the Canadian population, concentrated in southern Ontario and southern Quebec. British Columbia's Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver) holds about 2.65 million people, and Alberta's Calgary-Edmonton corridor holds about 3.2 million combined.

Canadian fertility is below replacement level. The total fertility rate in 2023 was 1.26 children per woman, the lowest on record (replacement is about 2.1). Without immigration, the Canadian population would begin to decline. Provincial population trends show Ontario (about 16 million), Quebec (8.9 million), British Columbia (5.7 million), and Alberta (4.9 million) as the four largest provinces. The fastest-growing provinces are Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province with consistent population decline since the 1990s, although recent immigration has slowed the trend. Demographic projections by Statistics Canada (Population Projections for Canada, the Provinces and Territories, 2023) suggest Canada's population could reach 47 to 56 million by 2043 depending on immigration assumptions.