OTTAWA — Canada’s population grew at its slowest pace for a second quarter since records began in 1946 — excluding 2020, when pandemic border closures nearly halted growth, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.
Between April 1 and July 1, 2025, the population rose by just 47,098 people, or 0.1 per cent, bringing the national total to an estimated 41.65 million.
The increase was driven primarily by international migration, which added 33,694 people. Natural increase — the difference between births and deaths — contributed another 13,404.
By comparison, the annual growth rate from July 2024 to July 2025 was 0.9 per cent, or 389,324 people, well below the pace seen in recent years when Canada led G7 nations in population growth.
The last time second-quarter growth was this slow was in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions sharply curtailed migration.