Canada’s overall population grew by 47,098 people in the second quarter of 2025.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Canada’s population barely grew in the second quarter this year, continuing a trend of near-zero growth after Ottawa’s moves last year to curb immigration.
The slow growth was driven by outflows of non-permanent residents. The number of temporary residents fell by nearly 60,000 between April 1 and July 1 this year, according to Statistics Canada’s latest population estimates. This outflow represents the largest number of temporary residents leaving the country, outside of the pandemic – a number only comparable to the third quarter of 1971.
As a result, the overall population of Canada grew by a mere 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of the year, or 47,098 people, the same level of growth the country experienced between January and March this year. Canada’s population currently stands at 41.65 million people.
Canada’s population had soared between 2021 and 2024, growing by a quarterly average of 217,000 people in that three-year time period. This growth was driven primarily by international students and temporary foreign workers. The abrupt increase in migration led to concerns over housing and the overall cost of living, putting pressure on the federal government to limit the non-permanent resident intake. A series of policy changes were implemented through 2024 that aimed to cap the number of temporary residents at 5 per cent of the overall population by the end of 2026.
The measures have been working, albeit slowly. The number of temporary residents peaked at 7.6 per cent of the total population in October, 2024, but has since dropped to 7.3 per cent of the total population, or just over three million people. Since the start of the year, roughly 120,000 non-permanent residents have left the country on a net basis.
Canada’s population growth slows to a crawl after moves to curb immigration
In particular, the number of study-permit holders sharply declined between April and July, with 32,025 fewer international students in the country. In the last year alone, the number has fallen by almost 18 per cent. But an increase in the number of asylum claimants (up 25 per cent since July 2024) has mitigated the decline in the overall temporary resident population.
Meanwhile, Canada’s population continues to age, more so because of the decline in younger immigrants. The Canadian median age has increased from 40.3 years to 40.6 years over the last year – that increase was temporarily halted between 2021 and 2024 because of the large wave of young newcomers into Canada.