Canada’s population grew by just 47,098 people in the second quarter of 2025, the slowest second-quarter growth rate since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new estimates from Statistics Canada.
As of July 1, 2025, the country’s estimated population stood at 41,651,653 — a 0.1 per cent increase from April 1, 2025. The last time a second-quarter growth rate was this low was in 2020, when border restrictions sharply limited international migration.
“This was the lowest population growth rate in a second quarter since the second quarter of 2020 (+0.1%), when growth nearly halted because of border restrictions at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency said in a release Wednesday. “Except for 2020, it was the lowest growth rate in a second quarter since comparable records began (second quarter of 1946).”
In contrast, the population rose by 272,032 (+0.7%) during the same quarter in 2024, and by 321,791 (+0.8%) in 2023. Those increases were largely driven by historically high levels of non-permanent residents. By comparison, growth in the second quarter of 2025 was primarily from permanent immigration.
International migration accounted for 71.5 per cent of the total growth, adding 33,694 people. The remaining 13,404 came from natural increase — the difference between births and deaths.
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Mark Dalton
Although the growth rate matched that of the first quarter, the second quarter’s population increase was numerically higher. “The smaller numerical increase in the first quarter of 2025 was expected because of seasonal trends, particularly in natural increase,” the agency said.
Statistics Canada noted that population growth from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, was 0.9 per cent (+389,324), a steep drop from the 1.2 million people added in 2023/2024 (+3.0%).
Much of the slowdown is attributed to a continued decline in the number of non-permanent residents, following the federal government’s announcement in 2024 to reduce the number of permit holders.
From a peak of 3.15 million non-permanent residents in October 2024, that number fell to just over 3 million by July 2025 — representing a quarterly drop of 58,719. “The decrease during the second quarter of 2025 (-58,719) was the second-largest quarterly decline in the number of non-permanent residents since comparable records began (third quarter of 1971),” the agency said.
Study permit holders saw the largest reduction (-32,025), followed by those with only work permits (-19,637) and individuals holding both (-19,072). These losses were partially offset by a rise in asylum claimants and protected persons, which increased by 17,901 to reach a record high of 497,443.
Despite the overall slowdown, Canada admitted 103,507 new immigrants in the second quarter of 2025, aligning with the federal government’s 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan. While lower than in previous years, this figure remained among the highest for any second quarter since 1957.
Regionally, Prince Edward Island had the fastest population growth (+0.8%), followed by Alberta (+0.4%). British Columbia was the only province to see a population decline (-2,154), largely due to a drop in non-permanent residents and net emigration.
Meanwhile, interprovincial migration neared pre-pandemic levels, with 110,188 people moving between provinces and territories. Alberta saw the largest net gain (+6,187) for the 12th consecutive quarter, while Ontario reported the biggest net loss (-6,154) for the 15th straight quarter.
Canada’s population is also aging, as the share of younger non-permanent residents declines. The median age rose from 40.3 years in 2024 to 40.6 in 2025, while the average age increased from 41.6 to 41.8.
“The combination of the large size of the Canadian population and demographic aging as a continual process makes it uncommon for immigration to influence the age structure of the population,” the agency said.
Notably, Newfoundland and Labrador became the first province where more than one in four residents are aged 65 or older (25.2%).
Across Canada, the share of seniors reached 19.5 per cent in 2025, up from 19 per cent in 2024. The number of Canadians aged 65 and older rose to over 8.1 million, a 3.4 per cent increase, while the population of children under 15 remained stable at just over 6.26 million.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
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