Canada Population Surpasses 41 Million, Fueled by Immigration

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada's population surpassed the 41-million person mark in the first quarter, with nearly all of the robust on-year growth powered by immigration.

Economists say population growth has added to aggregate demand in the economy, and is a chief reason why Canada has yet to fall into recession amid historically high borrowing costs.

Statistics Canada said Wednesday that the country's population reached 41.01 million in the first quarter, a 0.6% gain from the previous quarter and a 3.2% increase from the same period a year ago. The January-to-March period this year marked the third consecutive quarter in which Canada's population rose 3% on a 12-month basis.

Over a two-year period, the population grew 6.3%.

Overall, Canada's population grew by 242,673 people in the first quarter, and over 99% of the rise can be attributed to immigration. Relative to other major developed-world countries, Canada has set aggressive immigration targets, to help fuel growth and find workers to take up vacancies.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2024 09:21 ET (13:21 GMT)

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