First quarter of 2023 | Canada welcomed a record number of immigrants

(Ottawa) Statistics Canada estimates that the country welcomed more than 145,000 immigrants in the first three months of the year.

This is the highest number for a single quarter on record since comparable data became available in 1972.

Canada also saw a net increase of 155,300 non-permanent residents in the first quarter, “in part due to an increase in the number of work permit holders,” according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency released its quarterly population estimates on Wednesday, which show Canada’s population continues to grow rapidly.

The pace of population growth was the fastest on record for a first quarter, with 98% of the growth coming from immigration — permanent and temporary.

Statistics Canada also states that this population growth rate “is in line with the high growth rates of the previous four quarters”.

The population of Canada was estimated at 39,858,480 people in the 1^er April, a growth of 292,232 (+0.7%) since the 1^er January 2023.

And on June 16, Canada’s population reached the 40 million mark, according to Statistics Canada’s “population clock”. The federal government announced new immigration targets last fall that plan to welcome 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025.

In Quebec, the population rose to 8,831,257 people in the 1^er April, an increase of 43,703 people (+0.5%) since 1^er January.

In New Brunswick, the population grew to 831,618 people in the 1^er April, an increase of 6,144 people (+0.74%) since 1^er January.

In Ontario, the population grew to 15,500,632 people in 1^er April, an increase of 114,225 people (+0.74%) since the 1^er January.