CANADA IS ADDING ONE NEW PERSON EVERY MINUTE, STATISTICS CANADA REPORTS.
Canada’s population is booming. Figures released by Statistics Canada show an increase of 531,497 people between July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019. The growth rate — Canada adds one new person every minute — leads all G7 nations. The new figures show Canada’s population has reached 37,589,262, the biggest year-on-year increase ever recorded. We’re getting older, too; the number of people in Canada aged 100 or more has surpassed 10,000. Brian Fitzpatrick looks at the significant takeaways from the new bank of statistics.
IMMIGRATION ON THE RISE
Some 82.2 per cent of Canada’s overall population increase can be put down to international migratory growth, which in Canada has risen more than 40 per cent since the early 1990s. In total, 313,580 permanent immigrants came to Canada in 2018-19, but this is lower than 2015-16, when 30,000 Syrian refugees boosted the figure to more than 323,000. In 201819, a record number of non-permanent residents arrived — more than 171,000, mostly made up of those holding work and study permits, and asylum seekers. Although in numerical terms the population increase is a record, the highest actual rate of growth recorded to date was 1.5 per cent, between 1989 and 1990. Between 2018 and 2019, the growth rate was 1.4 per cent. AGE PROFILES VARY
We are youngest in the Prairies and the territories, and oldest in the Atlantic provinces. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 21.5 per cent of people are 65 or older, overtaking the usual category leaders, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The youngest population base is found in Nunavut, where 31.8 per cent are 14 and younger (and just four per cent are 65 and older). In the Atlantic provinces, the older population is the result of young people moving elsewhere; in Nunavut, the younger population is due to increased fertility rates and a lower life expectancy, Statistics Canada reports. BABY BOOMERS
More than one-in-six Canadians are now at least 65, and more than half of us were born in the “baby boom” period spanning 1946 to 1965. This marks a rise of 0.4 per cent, year on year. Statistics Canada’s “medium-growth scenario” estimates that Canada’s seniors could account for 22.7 per cent of the population by 2031. By 2039, it’s estimated there could be four million more seniors than at present. However, when it comes to seniors as a percentage of population, Canada still sits near the bottom of G7 rankings, just above the U.S. CENTENARIANS
We now have a record
10,000 centenarians in Canada — 10,795 people older than 100, to be exact. Most — exceeding 80 per cent — of Canada’s centenarians are women. When data is looked at across the provinces and territories, startling disparities appear. Ontario and Quebec lead the way for those older than 100; 3,762 and 2,559 respectively. In Nunavut, however, just two people were over 100. In the Yukon the figure was three; in the Northwest Territories, just four. HOW OLD ARE WE?
On average, Canadians are
40.8 years old, which has crept up only marginally since 2016. Men are 39.7 years old on average, with women at 41.8. But there are marked differences depending on region. In Newfoundland and Labrador, which has the oldest overall population in Canada, the average age is 47.1. New Brunswick, at 46, is second-oldest on average. In Nunavut, the average age is just 26.2.
People in the Northwest Territories (35.2), Manitoba (37.4), Saskatchewan (37.4) and Alberta (37.1) are slightly younger on average than the remaining areas. POPULATION BOOMS (AND BUSTS) Driven by international arrivals, certain areas within the Atlantic provinces are seeing record growth.
Prince Edward Island, for example, led the nation in 2018-19, with a 2.17 per cent rise. Ontario was second, at 1.72. This was fractionally down compared to 2017-18, but still among Ontario’s highest-ever figures. Quebec’s 1.15 per cent increase was its highest in 30 years. Alberta’s population, which saw a 1.34 per cent rise in 2017-18, jumped to a 1.63 per cent rise in 2018-19. But numbers didn’t go up everywhere. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the population dropped by 0.78 per cent this year, compared to 0.52 per cent a year earlier. Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, B.C. and Saskatchewan also saw drops. WHERE ARE WE GOING?
As well as the population
figures, the new batch of statistics also includes data sets on interprovincial migration. In 2018-19 the numbers show that Manitoba was hit hard by net outward migration, with an “in” figure of 10,351, but an “out” figure of 19,597, for a net loss of 9,246. In Saskatchewan 13,919 came in and 23,607 left, for a net loss of 9,688. Newfoundland and Labrador was also badly affected, with a net loss of 4,501.
Brunswick and B.C. all saw net increases in arrivals. Quebec lost 3,049 people over the year, with Ontario recording an increase of 11,731. Alberta is now posting gains on inward interprovincial migration after three fallow years — up 5,542 year-on-year between 2018 and 2019.
P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New