Canada Population Drops 0.2% in Third Quarter in First Decline Since Pandemic

Canada’s population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at 41.6 million, marking the only quarterly decline on record outside the Covid-19 era and a dramatic shift from explosive post-pandemic immigration growth.

The decrease was led by a record drop in non-permanent residents, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. Prime Minister Mark Carney has continued a policy introduced by his predecessor to shrink the number of foreign students, temporary workers and asylum-seekers in the country after their numbers ballooned in 2023 and 2024.