Canada’s population reaches 40M people today

Canada hit a major milestone on Friday, with the country’s population hitting 40 million.

According to Statistics Canada’s population clock, which follows trends in births, deaths, and migration in real time, the milestone came just before 3 p.m. ET.

“This is an exciting milestone for Canada,” says Chief Statistician Anil Arora in a statement. “It is a strong signal that Canada remains a dynamic and welcoming country, full of potential.”

The country added a million residents in one year for the first time ever, between January 2021 and 2022. In 2022, every single province and territory, with the exception of Northwest Territories, saw its population grow.

Canada currently leads all G7 nations in population growth, at 2.7 per cent, the highest level since 1957. In that year, immigration and the baby boom pushed the country’s population growth to 3.3 per cent.

Similar projections from Statistics Canada suggest the country will hit 50 million people by the year 2043. Canada’s population reached the 30 million milestone in 1997.

The rapid population growth has challenged economists’ understanding of the economy as they monitor how businesses and consumers are responding to high interest rates.

Higher population growth is also increasing the size of the economic “pie” as more people find jobs and spend money on goods and services.

With files from the Canadian Press