The Big Boom: Why Canada saw its population rise by more than a million

Canada in 2022 witnessed its population increase by over a million – a first in its history. This comes on the back of a surge in immigrants and temporary residents, the country’s national statistics office said on Wednesday. Let’s take a closer look: What happened? Statistics Canada said the total population grew by a record 1.05 million people to 39.57 million in the twelve months to 1 January 2023. Around 96 per cent of the rise was due to international migration, the statistics agency said. In 2022, Canada welcomed 437,180 immigrants and the number of non-permanent residents increased by a net 607,782 people. Both figures are highest levels on record and reflect “higher immigration targets and a record-breaking year for the processing of immigration applications,” Statscan said.

The agency counts both permanent and non-permanent residents in addition to net new births in calculating population figures. The last time the country saw such a sizeable increase was 70 years ago – in the post-war baby boom of the 1950s. Canada has been experiencing an upward trend in total employment since September, and the statistics agency has previously said that non-permanent residents are a notable contributor to that gain.

Immigration accounts for almost 100 per cent of Canada’s labour force growth.

By 2036 immigrants are projected to be about 30 per cent of Canada’s population, up from 20.7 per cent in 2011, according to Canada’s immigration ministry. The increase, which helped Canada retain its position as the fastest growing G7 country, translates to a population growth rate of 2.7 per cent and such a rate would lead to the population doubling in about 26 years, the agency said. Why is this happening? Because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has sharply ramped up immigration since taking power in 2015. This, as Canada depends on immigration to drive its economy and support an aging population. [caption id=“attachment_12195292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A family of migrants from Columbia is met by an RCMP officer after crossing the border at Roxham Road into Canada in Champlain, New York. AP[/caption] Al Jazeera quoted Statistics Canada as saying the surge was due to “high job vacancies and labour shortages” and the fact that 1 in seven residents is between the ages of 55 and 64.

And the government has no plans to stop.

Under a three-year plan announced in November, the Trudeau government wants to continue increasing annual immigration targets, with a goal to grant permanent residency to 465,000 people in 2023 and increasing that goal to 500,000 people by 2025. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that a program to help temporarily resettle Ukrainians in Canada, which was due to expire next week, would be extended another year. Of the million applications received under that scheme, 600,000 have been cleared, as per BBC. Another 130,000 have already made it to Canada under the plan. Ottawa has also been running special schemes to temporarily take in people impacted by crises such as the Ukraine war, instability in Afghanistan, or the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. However, Statistics Canada did sound a note of caution. As per BBC, it said the increase could “also represent additional challenges for some regions of the country related to housing, infrastructure and transportation, and service delivery to the population”.

Immigration is also viewed favourably in Canada.

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Bloomberg quoted polling from Nanos Research Group as saying that 52 per cent of respondents were of the opinion that Trudeau’s plan would be good for the economy. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said such a rise would be bad for the economy. The report noted that though this policy enjoys broad public support, people have been abandoning major cities with major population growth due to rent soaring. “Canadians would love to have the world believe they’re more open, liberal and accommodating - but this is all nonsense," Prof Hansen, a Canada research chair in global migration told BBC. Hansen said its upbeat attitude was down to a tight control of borders, its capacity to pick and choose whom it lets in, and the space in major cities. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.