Canada’s population drops by 100,000 in late 2025 amid sharp fall in temporary residents
Canada added 77,136 residents between January and June 2025, but Statistics Canada noted that this growth at the beginning of the year was insufficient to offset the population decline of 179,572 over the past six months.
According to the CTV News website, Statistics Canada said the main reason for the population decline in the fourth quarter was a decline of 171,000 non-permanent people, mostly among people with education or work permits.
The agency added that recent immigration legislation could impact Canada’s population trends in the coming months.
On March 13, Canada introduced an interim measure that will help Quebec accelerate the transition of approximately 33,000 skilled workers from work permits to permanent residence in 2026 and 2027. Despite these measures, Statistics Canada says population growth is likely to remain below fourth-quarter levels seen in 2023 and 2024.
In comparison, the country added more than 80,000 residents in the fourth quarter of 2024.
During the same period in 2023, Canada’s population increased by approximately 257,000, largely due to permanent and temporary international migration, Statistics Canada said. Canada registered 83,000 new permanent residents in the last quarter of 2025; It was the only country that contributed to population growth during this period. Although 19 percent lower than in 2024, these arrivals helped offset the decline in natural birth rates.
From October 2025 to January 2026, 781 more deaths than births were recorded in Canada.
According to the CTV News website, Statistics Canada has warned that the population decline reported in 2025 may be temporary, as recent increases in work and study permit extensions could lead to a revision of the figures in coming months.
