Population growth in Q2 fell to slowest pace on record for quarter excluding pandemic

Statistics Canada says the country’s population grew at its slowest pace for a second quarter since comparable record keeping began in 1946, excluding 2020 when the pandemic hit.

The agency says the population reached an estimated 41,651,653 on July 1, an increase of 47,098 people, or 0.1%, compared with April 1.

It says it was the lowest growth rate for the same three-month period since the second quarter of 2020, when growth nearly halted because of border restrictions caused by the pandemic.

The increase in population in the second quarter of this year came as international migration added 33,694 people.

The natural increase, the difference between births and deaths, added 13,404 people in the quarter.

The population growth rate from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025 was 0.9%, or 389,324 people.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.