Statistics Canada says there are more deaths than births with less immigration.
Canada’s population dipped by about 55,000 people during the 1st 3 months of this year. This was disclosed as new numbers from Statistics Canada. The estimated population as of 1 April ’26 was 41,417,056.
The agency added that the 0.1% decline reflects a decrease in both immigration and births compared to deaths.
The preliminary figures for early ’26 come months after the agency reported an overall decline in the population for last year.
There were about 20% fewer permanent immigrants to Canada during the 1st quarter of this year. Compared to the same last year, it reflected a drop to 83,149 from 104,210 during ’25.
The number of non-permanent residents declined by more than 117,000. However, Statistics Canada cautioned there may be future updates to those initial estimates. This is due to shifting international migration policies.
Also playing a part is what the agency terms a ‘natural increase’ in population. This is especially so if births outnumber deaths. In fact, it amounts to a decrease, as 155 more people died than those who were born across the country during the 1st quarter of ’26.
Effects on the economy
The population shifts are also a likely factor in recent data that reflect, by some measures, Canada’s economy has been struggling.
Chief Economist of National Bank of Canada, Stefane Marion, says that the population decreasing has been a part of why measures such as gross domestic product (GDP) have dropped.
Marion added that when one adjusts for population, the signals that one receives from the Canadian economy are less dreadful.
With fewer immigrants, the overall size of what economists Mikal Skuterud shared as the ‘economic pie’ may shrink. This is even though a smaller population overall might mean a bigger each-person slice of that pie.
Skuterud, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo, further shared that as the Canadian population has decreased, the share each person of the GDP has climbed.
He added that as a result of the Liberal government’s U-turn on immigration policy, GDP per capita growth rates have turned from negative. It’s now flat or slightly positive.
