Some of the nearly 400 new Canadians from 65 countries take an oath of citizenship at a ceremony in Toronto on Friday, July 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

By The Canadian Press

Canada’s population has dropped for the first time since Confederation: StatCan

Mar 18, 2026 | 9:54 AM

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada’s latest estimates suggest Canada’s population declined last year for the first time since Confederation, due primarily to a drop in the number of non-permanent immigrants.

The estimates suggest Canada’s population lost about 102,000 people in 2025.

That loss came after the non-permanent resident population fell by more than 171,000 individuals between Oct. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026.

Cristobal D’Alessio, a spokesperson for Statistics Canada, said 2025 was the first calendar year to see an estimated decrease in the population since Confederation.

Before 1946, D’Alessio said, the annual period for reporting population statistics started on June 1 rather than Jan. 1 — but no one-year period showed a decrease before 2025.

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D’Alessio said the population also decreased in the third quarter of 2025 and in the third quarter of 2020.

StatCan said the permanent immigrant population grew by about 83,000 people in the final quarter of 2025 — a 20 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2024.

The agency reports Ontario remains the top destination for immigrants, welcoming 42 per cent of all new arrivals in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Natural population growth in the final three months of 2025 declined by 781 people, meaning there were more deaths than births.

Canada’s natural population growth rate has been sliding for a long time and nearly all population growth has been attributed to immigration in recent years.

The agency said these estimates should be interpreted with caution, as a spike in renewals for work and study permits could lead to larger-than-usual population changes in the coming months.

The report says Alberta emerged as the top destination for interprovincial migration for the 14th consecutive quarter. The report says just under 3,700 people moved to the province from other parts of Canada in 2025’s fourth quarter.

The latest figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada show the number of international students and workers arriving continues to decline, with a 28 per cent drop in new arrivals between January 2025 and January 2026.

The government’s immigration levels plan for 2026 plots a continuing reduction in the number of temporary workers and international students over the next three years, after years of rapid growth that peaked in fall 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press